On December 27, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz welcomed organizers of Brooklyn’s Three Kings Day Parade to Borough Hall. Borough President Markowitz will march in the annual parade, to be held in Williamsburg on Sunday, January 6.

Also known as The Epiphany, Three Kings Day (Día de los Tres Reyes Magos) is a Christian celebration that commemorates the Biblical story of the three kings who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the Christ child. According to the Biblical story, the Three Kings—Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar—presented the Baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Traditionally in Latin America, Three Kings Day is the gift-giving time, rather than Christmas Day. Just as it is common for children to leave cookies for Santa in the U.S., in Latin America children leave their shoes out on the night of January 5, in hopes that the Three Kings would be generous. Children awaken on January 6 to find their shoes filled with toys and gifts. Donated toys, including those from the Borough President’s Office, will be distributed to children at the end of the parade.