January 6 - Fetes des Rois

In France, on Epiphany (January 6th)the French eat the galette des Rois as a yearly tradition.
The 6th of January marks the “day of the kings”, commemorating the Kings who arrived to pay hommage to the Infant Jesus. The galette des rois or King’s cake is part of the celebration.
The cake contains a lucky charm (une fève) which was originally a bean, a symbol of fertility. Whoever found the charm in their slice of cake, became King or Queen and had to buy a round of drinks for all their companions. This sometimes resulted in stingy behaviour and to avoid buying a round of drinks, the potential King or Queen very often swallowed the bean! Which was why towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the lucky charm started being made of porcelain. The charm can take any shape or form and can either be very plain or more sophisticated (glazed or handpainted). It sometimes represents a religious figure such as the baby Jesus, but it can be virtually anything. Little horseshoe shapes are popular as they are thought to bring luck. Although nowadays very often made of plastic, old-fashioned china charms are still used and they have become collectable items kept in the family and passed down to the next generation, like the santons in the Christmas creche.

The modern Galette des Rois is made of puff pastry and can be plain or filled with frangipane, an almond-flavoured paste. It is sold in all French bakeries and eating the galette at the beginning of January is still a very popular tradition and an opportunity for families and friends to gather around the table. The youngest person in the room (usually a child) 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 of galette becomes the King or Queen and is given a golden paper crown. The King or Queen then has to choose his Queen or her King, by dropping the lucky charm in their glass.

Last night in the news, it was announced that the galette des rois is a 900 million euro industry and 60 million galettes are sold yearly here in France!