Three Kings Day

German President Horst Koehler, center, and his wife, Eva, stand with children dressed as carol singers at Epiphany Day in front of Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. Koehler will open the palace, which was built in 1785, to the public on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006. It was under renovation for two years.

Men wearing costumes representing the Three Kings, or Magi, ride horses as they arrive in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for the feast of Epiphany on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. In this popular Italian celebration dedicated to youngsters, the Pontiff expressed relief that five Italian tourists were freed after being held for six days by Yemeni kidnappers.

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing at the end of an Epiphany Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006.

A Swiss Papal Guard salutes during an Epiphany Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006.

Bulgarian men jump into water at 4 degrees Centigrade as they compete to retrieve a cross in the middle of Druzhba lake in Sofia on Epiphany, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. It is believed that the person who gets to the cross first, thrown into the water by an Eastern Orthodox priest, will be healthy throughout the New Year.

Fellow divers carry Jack Vasilaros, 16, from Spring Bayou to the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox cathedral during the Feast of the Epiphany celebration Friday, Jan. 6, 2006, in Tarpon Springs, Fla. This is the 100th year, since the founding of its Greek Orthodox community, that Tarpon Springs has celebrated the Epiphany.

Polish children celebrate the Christian holiday Epiphany outside a church in the village of Jaworznik, near Czestochowa, central Poland, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. It is a tradition for Polish children to dress up as the three wise men and go door-to-door asking for candy and singing carols.

A Romanian Orthodox priest looks at a book before a religious service celebrating Epiphany Day at the patriarchal palace in Bucharest, Romania, Friday Jan. 6, 2006. Hundreds of worshipers attended the celebrations.

A giant sock filled with sweets is carried by Fiat 500 cars to celebrate the upcoming epiphany festivity in Viterbo, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006. The epiphany is celebrated in Italy on Jan. 6. It is a tradition to fill socks with sweets and give them to children as gifts.

Turkey's Orthodox citizens light candles during an Epiphany service at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. Turkey's Orthodox worshippers, mostly members of Istanbul's small Greek community and tourists from neighboring Greece, attended the Epiphany ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters, symbolizing the baptism of Jesus.

A dove flies over Greek Orthodox clerics and worshippers after the Epiphany service at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006.

An Orthodox woman lights a candle during the Epiphany service at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. Turkey's Orthodox worshippers, mostly members of Istanbul's small Greek community and tourists from neighboring Greece, attended the Epiphany ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters, symbolizing the baptism of Jesus.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartolomew of the Greek Orthodox Church, center, blesses divers before they entered Spring Bayou during the Feast of the Epiphany celebration Friday, Jan. 6, 2006, in Tarpon Springs, Fla. This is the 100th year since the founding of its Greek Orthodox community that Tarpon Springs has celebrated the Epiphany.

Students from Cristo Mayo High School, Matthew Anderson, second from left, Oliver Hernandez, center, and Ezequiel Reyes, second right, dress in costumes as they march in the Three Kings Day Parade in East Harlem, New York, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. Three Kings Day is celebrated throughout Latin America 12 days after Christmas and is often viewed as the last day of the Christmas season.

Three giant-size figures are the featured attraction during the Three Kings Day Parade in East Harlem, New York, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006.

Carolina sits on her father's shoulder to watch Three Kings Day festivities in the central plaza of Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006. Three Kings Day, called Dia de Reyes in Spanish, is celebrated throughout the United States and Latin America, as well as Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Mexicans celebrate Three Kings Day with 30-foot high figures in the central plaza of Mexico City, Friday, Jan. 6, 2006.

Dressed as Melchor, one of the Three Kings of Epiphany Day, Dr. Pablo Lizama gives a gift to Leonardo, a child who recently underwent eye surgery at the childrens hospital in Mexico City, Mexico, on Thursday Jan. 5, 2005. Jan. 6 is Three Kings Day, which commemorates Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar -- representing Europe, Arabia and Africa -- arriving on horse, camel and elephant to bring gifts to the baby Jesus.