I'm not so much involved into religious festivities... I even didn't participate at my parent's Christmas dinner... But I think Epiphany's tradition is funnier... Do you do something like this in your country?
My dad is a baker so of course... Galette des Rois! (The King Cake in English, but literally: the King's Wafer...)
If you've got the share with the lucky charm (fve), you're the King or the Queen... I didn't so no pic of me with the crown
.
This is the story behind this tradition:
General history:
It is popular in Christmas season in France, Belgium and Switzerland (galette/gteau des Rois), Portugal (Bolo Rei), Spain (Roscn de Reyes and in Catalonia called tortell), Greece and Cyprus (vasilopita) and Bulgaria (banitsa). In the United States, which celebrates Carnival ranging from Mobile, Alabama to East Texas, centered on New Orleans it is associated instead with Mardi Gras season traditions.
The cakes have a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, sometimes said to represent Baby Jesus) inside, and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations.
In southern U.S.A., the tradition was brought to the area by colonists from France and Spain. King cake parties in New Orleans are documented back to the eighteenth century.
Related culinary traditions are the tortell of Catalonia, the gteau des Rois in Provence or the galette des Rois in the northern half of France, and the Greek vasilopita. The galette des Rois is made with puff pastry and frangipane (while the gteau des Rois is made with brioche and candied fruits). A little bean was traditionally hidden in it, a custom taken from the Saturnalia in the Roman Empire: the one who stumbled upon the bean was called "king of the feast." In the galette des Rois, since 1870 the beans have been replaced by porcelain and, now, plastic figurines; while the gteau des Rois often contains both a bean and a figurine.
Samuel Pepys (whose wife was French) recorded a party in London on Epiphany night, 6 January 1659/1660: "...to my cosen Stradwick, where, after a good supper, there being there my father, mother, brothers, and sister, my cosen Scott and his wife, Mr. Drawwater and his wife, and her brother, Mr. Stradwick, we had a brave cake brought us, and in the choosing, Pall was Queen and Mr. Stradwick was King. After that my wife and I bid adieu and came home, it being still a great frost."[1]
The choosing of King and Queen from the pie, usually by the inclusion of a bean and a pea, was a traditional English Twelfth Night festivity.
In Belgium and France:
Tradition holds that the cake is to draw the kings to the Epiphany. A figurine, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake and the person who finds the trinket la fve (literally the broad bean) in their slice becomes king for the day and will have to offer the next cake. Broad beans were initially used, but they were replaced in 1870 by figurines out of porcelain or - more recently - plastic. Nevertheless, these trinkets are still called fves. As there is a wide variety of figurines, they are popular collectibles and can often be bought separately. Individual bakeries may offer a specialized line of fves depicting diverse themes from great works of art to classic movie stars and popular cartoon characters. The cakes are usually sold in special bags, some of which can be used to heat the cake in a microwave without ruining the crispness of the cake. A paper crown is included with the cake to crown the "king" who finds the fve in their piece of cake. To ensure a random distribution of the cake shares, it is traditional for the youngest person to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of the share which is indicated by the person in charge of the service.
Formerly, one divided the cake in as many shares as guests, plus one. The latter, called "the share of God," "share of the Virgin Mary," or "share of the poor" was intended for the first poor person to arrive at the home.
The French President is not allowed to to draw the kings on Epiphany because of the etiquette rules.
Well... It has been a long time without pic... So it's not the same subject but... PIC!
I'm sad A Christmas Dream wasn't accepted... I guess it's too late now. There is so much effort in it. I was aching while doing it. And 2Shadowland worked so much on it...
My dad is a baker so of course... Galette des Rois! (The King Cake in English, but literally: the King's Wafer...)
If you've got the share with the lucky charm (fve), you're the King or the Queen... I didn't so no pic of me with the crown
. This is the story behind this tradition:
General history:
It is popular in Christmas season in France, Belgium and Switzerland (galette/gteau des Rois), Portugal (Bolo Rei), Spain (Roscn de Reyes and in Catalonia called tortell), Greece and Cyprus (vasilopita) and Bulgaria (banitsa). In the United States, which celebrates Carnival ranging from Mobile, Alabama to East Texas, centered on New Orleans it is associated instead with Mardi Gras season traditions.
The cakes have a small trinket (often a small plastic baby, sometimes said to represent Baby Jesus) inside, and the person who gets the piece of cake with the trinket has various privileges and obligations.
In southern U.S.A., the tradition was brought to the area by colonists from France and Spain. King cake parties in New Orleans are documented back to the eighteenth century.
Related culinary traditions are the tortell of Catalonia, the gteau des Rois in Provence or the galette des Rois in the northern half of France, and the Greek vasilopita. The galette des Rois is made with puff pastry and frangipane (while the gteau des Rois is made with brioche and candied fruits). A little bean was traditionally hidden in it, a custom taken from the Saturnalia in the Roman Empire: the one who stumbled upon the bean was called "king of the feast." In the galette des Rois, since 1870 the beans have been replaced by porcelain and, now, plastic figurines; while the gteau des Rois often contains both a bean and a figurine.
Samuel Pepys (whose wife was French) recorded a party in London on Epiphany night, 6 January 1659/1660: "...to my cosen Stradwick, where, after a good supper, there being there my father, mother, brothers, and sister, my cosen Scott and his wife, Mr. Drawwater and his wife, and her brother, Mr. Stradwick, we had a brave cake brought us, and in the choosing, Pall was Queen and Mr. Stradwick was King. After that my wife and I bid adieu and came home, it being still a great frost."[1]
The choosing of King and Queen from the pie, usually by the inclusion of a bean and a pea, was a traditional English Twelfth Night festivity.
In Belgium and France:
Tradition holds that the cake is to draw the kings to the Epiphany. A figurine, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the cake and the person who finds the trinket la fve (literally the broad bean) in their slice becomes king for the day and will have to offer the next cake. Broad beans were initially used, but they were replaced in 1870 by figurines out of porcelain or - more recently - plastic. Nevertheless, these trinkets are still called fves. As there is a wide variety of figurines, they are popular collectibles and can often be bought separately. Individual bakeries may offer a specialized line of fves depicting diverse themes from great works of art to classic movie stars and popular cartoon characters. The cakes are usually sold in special bags, some of which can be used to heat the cake in a microwave without ruining the crispness of the cake. A paper crown is included with the cake to crown the "king" who finds the fve in their piece of cake. To ensure a random distribution of the cake shares, it is traditional for the youngest person to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of the share which is indicated by the person in charge of the service.
Formerly, one divided the cake in as many shares as guests, plus one. The latter, called "the share of God," "share of the Virgin Mary," or "share of the poor" was intended for the first poor person to arrive at the home.
The French President is not allowed to to draw the kings on Epiphany because of the etiquette rules.
Well... It has been a long time without pic... So it's not the same subject but... PIC!
I'm sad A Christmas Dream wasn't accepted... I guess it's too late now. There is so much effort in it. I was aching while doing it. And 2Shadowland worked so much on it...
VIEW 25 of 64 COMMENTS
bolo rainha (or queen cake - from portugal)