Eating traditional Galette des rois Cake
The Galette des rois is a traditional cake that begins twelve days after Christmas and ends on Mardi Gras day. Celebrated on January 6, Epiphany corresponds to the presentation of the infant Jesus to the Three Wise Men, Melchior, Gaspard and Balthazar, who came from three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe, to deliver their gifts. Like many Christian feasts, the date of Epiphany was originally a pagan feast. In the past, the Romans celebrated the Saturnalia, the winter solstice festival, which consisted of designating the king or queen of the day by means of a white or black bean hidden in a cake. The favorite cake of the French is the one filled with frangipane, a cream made of sweet almonds, butter, eggs and sugar. It would have been invented by a Florentine nobleman, the Marquis of Frangipani, several centuries ago. In the eighteenth century, the bean is a porcelain figurine representing the nativity and the characters of the crib. Nowadays, there is a multitude of figurines that make the happiness of the collectors. The family tradition is to gather to cut the famous cake. The youngest child sits under the table and designates the guests who receive their share of the cake. A cardboard crown is provided with the cake. The one who finds the bean is crowned and chooses his or her queen or king.
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