Three Kings Day Parade 2025 in NYC: Street closures, route and more
NEW YORK CITY - El Museo del Barrio’s 47th Annual Three Kings Day Parade took place on Monday in East Harlem.
JUMP TO: STREET CLOSURES l ROUTE l THEME
Christians around the world marked the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water.
The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany.
NYC street closures
Formation:
- 106th Street between 5th Avenue and Park Avenue
Route:
- 106th Street between Park Avenue and Third Avenue
- Third Avenue between 106th Street and 116th Street
- 116th Street between Third Avenue and Park Avenue
- Park Avenue between 115th Street and 116th Street
Dispersal:
- 115th Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue
Parade start time and route
The parade started at 11 a.m. at 106th Street and Park Avenue and ended at noon at 115th Street and Park Avenue.
(Credit: El Museo del Barrio)
After the parade at El Museo's Teatro, there was a community celebration from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
What can we expect to see at the parade?
Get ready to see camels, sheep, a donkey, vibrant puppets, and community leaders dressed as the Three Kings for a lively celebration featuring live music, colorful festivities, and gift giveaways for thousands of spectators.
Hispanic community leaders and many families celebrate Three Kings Day with the 47th Three Kings Day Parade organized by El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem of Manhattan, New York City, on Friday, January 5, 2024. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Get
Performers include BombaYo, Annette Aguilar & Stringbeans, Fogo Azul, and more.
What is this year's theme?
The theme for this year's parade was "The Arts Open Paths," which is meant to celebrate the power of Caribbean and Latin American art and its ability to uplift communities, NYC Tourism said.
Why is it known with different names?
Some Western Christian churches know the feast day as Three Kings Day. It recalls the visit of three Magi, or wise men, to the infant Jesus, and their sense of wonder at the encounter. It is the 12th day after Christmas and closes the Christmas season.
Eastern traditions call it Theophany, and they focus on the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Orthodox Christians also know it as the Baptism of Christ.
How is it celebrated?
The day is often celebrated by Catholics in Spain with parades that include decorative floats carrying people dressed as the biblical kings who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. Children in Spain and in some parts of Latin America traditionally unwrap holiday gifts that elsewhere in the world are delivered by Santa Claus on Christmas Day.
Greeks celebrate Epiphany with blessing of the waters ceremonies across the country, which is primarily Orthodox.
In Bulgaria, some observers plunge into rivers and lakes to retrieve crucifixes, in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, also known as the Apparition of Christ.
By tradition, a crucifix is cast into the waters of a lake or river. It’s believed that the person who retrieves it will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy through the year. After the cross is fished out, the priest sprinkles believers with water using a bunch of basil.