Dozens of Williamsburg residents paraded down the streets on Sunday afternoon for the 26th annual Three Kings Day Parade, celebrating the last of the 12 days of Christmas and honoring the nabe’s Latin roots.
Three Kings Day — or Día de Los Reyes — falls each year on Jan. 6, 12 days after Christmas, commemorating the day the Three Wise Men finally arrived in Bethlehem with gold, frankincense and myrrh for the newborn baby Jesus. The day is widely celebrated in Spanish and Latin American countries across the world — and Latin communities in New York City. While the best-known parade takes place in Manhattan, Williamsburg has long been home to a thriving Latino community, who have celebrated the holiday with a parade in the borough for nearly 30 years.
Sunday’s festivities kicked off at Graham and Meeker avenues, where kiddos dressed up as the three kings gathered with friends and neighbors to cut a ribbon to start the procession. The afternoon was filled with live music, floats, and celebration as the parade headed toward Broadway.
The pandemic has put a damper on the celebration for the last two years – in 2021, Woodhull Hospital organized a smaller-scale celebration to hand out gifts and food to local kiddos and their families — but Sunday’s parade was just as exciting as ever, bringing the community together for a day of fun and tradition.
