Covering The Coverage: America Gives 3 Kings A Warm, Capitalist Embrace

USA Today announces that the Latino celebration of Three Kings Day is finally becoming a part of American culture. How can they tell?

A growing number of retailers are promoting the Hispanic tradition of celebrating Three Kings Day every Jan. 6 as a way to extend the buying season past Christmas and connect with Hispanic customers.

Aw, nothing says, “I love you” in America like cold, hard cash. But not only cash. Also, camp:

For the first time, actors dressed as the three wise men began wandering through Florida Mall in Orlando on Sunday and posing with children for photos on a repurposed Santa display. “Now we have three thrones,” laughs general manager Brian Peters.

Ha ha ha ha. We feel sick.

Wal-Mart, (WMT) which began promoting the tradition in a big way last year, is expanding. This year, the three kings are visiting Wal-Marts in the Southwest, and more than 300 Wal-Marts have displays and products geared to the celebration. And Kmart (SHLD) is sponsoring the Three Kings parade in Miami on Jan. 13 and an appearance by José Feliciano at its Bronx, New York, store Thursday.

This we would pay money to see. And why not pick up a cuisinart or gun while we’re there?

“It makes all the business sense in the world if you can extend the selling season,” says Alex López Negrete, CEO of López Negrete Communications, the nation’s second-largest Hispanic marketing company. The firm worked with Wal-Mart on its Three Kings campaign.

And business sense is this country’s most cherished tradition.

Stores embrace Hispanic tradition of 3 Kings Day [USA Today]