Sunday, January 18, 2026

The crowned heads of Europe

Old Christmas. The Epiphany. Twelfth Night. Call it what you will. Here in France you're likely to hear it called La FĂȘte des Rois (Festival of the Kings). All of them refer to the day in the Christian calendar when the three kings of orient supposedly arrived in Bethlehem with gifts after the birth of Jesus. Ceramic tokens are baked into cakes called galettes des rois. Whoever finds the token hidden in his slice is crowned King for the day and gets to wear a stylish (not) paper crown that comes with the cake.

The giraffe comes from Africa, the souvenir of a work trip Ken took in the '80s.

Our ceramic token this year is the face of a wild boar. I didn't take a photo. I did pack the token away with all the others we've collected over the years. The paper crown adorns a Moroccan tajine on the buffet. It (the crown) will be gone soon. 

2 comments:

  1. You’re throwing away the crown? Gasp! Had my mother had galettes des rois every year, I would have found 70+ crowns after she died.

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  2. I like those little feves.

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