The celebration of the Epiphany
The Epiphany is celebrated on the 6 January. However, as it is not a public holiday in Belgian and France we celebrate it on the first Sunday of January except if it is the first day of the year.
The Epiphany is very important in Spain because the children receive gifts from the Three Wise Men and not on Christmas like in France. It is also a nice day in France because we get to eat "La Galette des Rois" : the Twelfth Night cake.
There is a whole tradition around this cake. We eat it with some friends and family. There is a bean or a lucky charm hidden somewhere in the plain round flat cake. The youngest (and allegedly innocent) person has to go under the table and decide who the next slice is for. The lucky one who founds the bean in his portion becomes the queen or the king and has to choose a queen or a king as well. These two are supposed to be lucky for the rest of the year (at work he is supposed to bring another cake and in Spain he is supposed to pay for the cake).
There are two types of cake. The first one is some kind of round bun with glacé fruits. It is supposed to remind us of a crown. People eat this cake in Spain and in the very south of France.
In the rest of France and south of Germany, we have a frangipane cake.
Now, between us, although I am from the south of France, I really prefer the frangipane cake!
As a conclusion, I could say that even though we, French, are still full from Christmas meals, we always find an excuse for another good meal.
I hope you are not too hungry now!
