(Well, Mardi Gras is actually coming up on Tuesday, but "the season" is in full swing.) My Louisiana aunt sent us a King Cake last week so we could enjoy the celebration. We finished it off last night. (For those of you who don't know, a king cake is like a big braided cinnamon roll with colored sugar on top in the Mardi Gras colors: purple for justice, gold for power, and green for faith.)
Mardi Gras obviously has a reputation for debauchery -- and rightly so, as far as what goes on in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Incidentally, most people don't realize that most of the suburban parades and festivities are family friendly.
Anyway, I bet you didn't know about the church history intertwined with our little King Cake! The "King Cake" season starts at Epiphany and goes through Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday" in French, or the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the somber season of Lent). The term "King" actually refers to the Magi (or wise men) that came to visit the infant Jesus -- an event celebrated at Epiphany (January 6th) for centuries. (And still today in liturgical churches like ours.) In the Middle Ages, Epiphany became known as the "Twelfth Night" and was celebrated with actual pageants of the Magi riding through the streets of the city bringing precious gifts to the cathedral. The King Cake was traditionally baked on the eve of January 6th, but today is enjoyed throughout the entire Epiphany season.
An unusual feature of the King Cake is that a little plastic baby (symbolizing Jesus) is always baked into the cake. The person who "finds the infant" in their piece is declared the "king" for that season. When my dad was a child, his friends had a "King Cake Party" every year. The child who "got the baby" was the king or queen that year and had to host the party the following year. (Too bad the baby fell right out when I was cutting the cake this year... I must be the queen then, right??)
By the way, the New Orleans bakeries that are known for their King Cakes all shut down for at least a week after Mardi Gras to recover from the mad rush of baking during the season!
Thought I'd just throw out those fun facts for you all, it being gray and decidly non-carnival-like in flyover country.
1 week ago
5 comments:
Oh...I never knew all that! Fun, fun, fun! So, can we have a Mardi Gras party? Please? Please?
Yeah -- let's talk about it for next year. We'd have to plan ahead to order cake and maybe some beads and things. (This year I have a child's birthday and out-of-town guests next week.) Next year Mardi Gras falls on February 24th, so we'd have more time to plan.
Thanks for the information. You know how we always count on you to keep us informed. I think that's cool. That king cake looks delicious. Cinnabon, anyone??? Smooch.
Oh I can see I'm going to get suckered into that one. Smooch.
So are you from Louisiana??
:0) I did know some of the history of the king cake! However,it's only from watching WAY too much of Food Network! I'd like to bake a King cake...any recipes?
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