Are they the same meaning for Three Kings Day?
In Lesson2.2 The informal Future and Holidays There are two ways to spell the Three Kings Day el Día de los Reyes Magos el Día de los Tres Magos Why?
2 Answers
In Spanish, the actual name for "Three Kings Day" is "el Día de los Reyes Magos". However, it can be referred to as "el Día de los Tres Magos", which is more of a literal translation of the term from Latin or English. In Eastern Christianity, and especially the Syriac Churches, the Magi is composed of a dozen men, not three. So, possibly in some Latin American countries, depending on what European countries influenced their celebration of the twelve days of Chrismas, the term "el Día de los Reyes Mago" may be paying deference to the Eastern European ideas that there were twelve "magi". This difference in accounts regarding the number of Magi is due to the fact that, in the gospel of Matthew, the number of Magi is not specifically stated, only that there were three gifts. As time passed, it became common to assume that there were three Magi.
In my country we also say "Los Santos Reyes" (without mentioning there are three of them): "¿Qué te trajeron los Santos Reyes/Reyes Magos?"
I think it is more important to say they are Kings than to say they are "Magos", which in Spanish means "magician", but not so much in this case.