King Cake: A Twelfth Night Tradition (2024)

FAQs

King Cake: A Twelfth Night Tradition? ›

In these early King Cakes a bean, pea, or coin was hidden inside the cake. The person who got the hidden piece was declared King for the day or was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, Twelfth Night also signifies the beginning of the carnival season which ends with Mardi Gras

The plastic baby symbolizes the infant Jesus because of the religious connection to King's Day. Tradition dictates that finding the baby in your cake piece symbolizes luck and prosperity, and the finder becomes the “king” or “queen” of the evening. The person who hosts the Mardi Gras party buys or makes the king cake.

Twelfth Cake is part of a tradition which dates from medieval times. It was a large fruit cake made and eaten to celebrate the Twelfth Night or Epiphany, which was a much bigger feast-day than Christmas at the time (Christmas did not gain its popularity until the 19th century).

There is also a popular belief that it is unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, though some may leave them up until Candlemas. Other popular Twelfth Night customs include singing Christmas carols, having one's house blessed, merrymaking, as well as attending church services.

According to the Christian calendar, it is known as the day of Epiphany. On this day, the three kings traveled to Bethlehem, bearing gifts to the newborn baby Jesus. To honor this belief, people celebrate with an oval-shaped king cake, symbolizing the unity of faiths.

WHAT IS ITS RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE? In Roman Catholic tradition, the Epiphany represents the day that Jesus first made himself known to the three wise men. King cake season officially begins on this holy day, which is observed on January 6th and ends on Mardi Gras day.

It was frequently baked with a bean hidden in one side and a pea hidden in the other; the man/lord finding the bean became King for the night, while the woman/lady finding the pea became the Queen – also known as the Lord or Lady of Misrule.

In old English and French Twelfth Night celebrations, a cake would be baked to celebrate Epiphany. In both English and French traditions, an bean and a pea would be baked in to the cake, and whoever got the piece with the pea and the bean, would be the king and queen of the night.

In Britain, the Twelfth Night Cake was a large rich cake, often with a domed top, iced and decorated with ribbons, paper, tinsel and even sugar figures. A dried bean and a dried pea would be hidden in the cake and the man who found the bean would be the King; the woman who found the pea, Queen.

Twelfth Night, as celebrated in pagan traditions, has its roots in the ancient festival of Yule, a midwinter celebration that marks the Winter Solstice. In pagan beliefs, this period is seen as a time of rebirth and renewal, as the solstice signifies the gradual return of the sun after the longest night of the year.

What is the moral of the 12th night? ›

Answer and Explanation: The main message of Twelfth Night is about love. How different love can be, how it can be fickle, irrational and self-serving. Often the cause of love is physical beauty, Shakespeare uses disguises and mistaken identity to show how misleading physical beauty can be.

This date, called Twelfth Night, is the feast of the Epiphany in the Catholic faith and marks the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. The best part about Epiphany? It's most often honored by serving a delicious king cake.

“Twelfth Night” is the twelfth night after Christmas, the last night of what used to be the extended period of celebration of the Christmas season. Thus it marks the boundary between the time for games and disguisings and the business of the workaday world.

Most king cakes are traditionally decorated in royal colors of purple, which signifies “justice,” green for “growth,” and gold meaning “prosperity and wealth.” These colors can be seen as chosen to resemble a jeweled crown honoring the three wise men and their gifts during the visit of the Christ Child on Epiphany.

“Nope, nope, nope-ity, nope!” says Jessie Wightkin Gelini, chef instructor at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, which makes and sells hundreds of king cakes each year, although never before January 6. “If you eat king cake early,” she says, “it will rain on Mardi Gras Day and the Saints will lose.”

Once French colonists came to North America and settled in the Mississippi Delta area, the king cake really cemented itself in the American Christian tradition. Some people even eat king cakes throughout the entirety of Epiphany season.

Epiphany is celebrated on the 12th day after Christmas, the day when the three kings are said to have arrived in Bethlehem to see baby Jesus. This is why the dessert is called “king” cake and why there's a tiny baby hidden inside.

Remember, finding the baby inside the king cake not only makes you a “king,” but it also comes with some responsibilities. If you are so fortunate to find the baby in your slice of cake, you will be responsible for hosting the next Mardi Gras celebration and providing the next king cake!

The Rosca holds plastic baby Jesus toys inside and whomever gets a baby Jesus in their slice, is responsible to host a dinner and/or serve tamales on February 2nd, Candlemas day. It is a really fun time for the family to endure the suspense of possibly getting a Jesus toy in your slice.

Something like king cake is available year round, but those faithful to New Orleans tradition know it only has its cultural significance during Carnival season. That season will fly by this year, between the kick off on Jan. 6 and Fat Tuesday bringing down the curtain on Feb. 13.