Cali-Parisien

La Galette des Rois

As usual, I'm about a month late in actually finishing this post but that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

Since the Middle Ages, January 6^th, the day of l'Epiphanie (epiphany) has been celebrated with a special Twelfth Night cake: La Galette des Rois (the King's cake). Historically it was believed to be on this day that the Magi (Three Wise Men) are said to have arrived from the east to worship the Infant Jesus. Although today it's lost it's religious meaning to most, having a celebration with a Galette des Rois is still a popular tradition among friends and family here in France. Starting around early-december, they can be found in the windows of just about every boulangerie (bakery) and pâtisserie (pastry shop).

The modern Parisian Galette des Rois (as it differs between regions) is a cake made of a flaky puff-pastry filled with a frangipane, a rich buttery almond-paste. Somewhere hidden inside the cake is la fève (lucky charm), traditionally a dried fava bean, but today is usually a tiny porcelain figure or object. Needless to day, with the hidden prize inside everyone knows to bite carefully.

The youngest person in the room (which happened to be me when we had the celebration at work) hides under the table and shouts out which guest each slice of cake should be given to. The person who finds the fève in their slice becomes the Roi or Reine (King or Queen) and is given exclusive bragging rites and a luxurious golden paper crown (the crown is actually given along with the cake purchase). The King or Queen then has to choose his Queen or her King, by dropping the fève in their glass.

Just around the time that we were finishing our own little Galette des Rois celebration at home, our land-lord came by with a few of his nephews to help me carry our broken refrigerator out of our apartment and down the stairs. About a half hour later just before he left he turned to me chuckling and asked me who I had picked to be my queen (he thought it was funny that as there are only two of us, choice is limited). I had forgotten that the whole time I had been wearing my golden paper victory crown and no one had said anything (or even given me a strange look for that matter).

posted by geek @ dimanche, janvier 15, 2006 1 comments