Word of the Week: a bookish meme hosted here on Mondays in which we share a word that we find entertaining, enlightening, edifying, or just plain fun to say! Share your own word on your blog, then help me grow the meme and come share it here on mine!
It’s Carnival season in Louisiana, so our next few weeks of words will be related to the theme of Mardi Gras! Here’s this week’s choice.
This definition comes from Where Y’at. It’s a pretty straightforward definition, and you may find king cakes gussied up a bit more than just the cinnamon dough, with cream cheese, fruit, or chocolate fillings. The purple, green, and gold topping is a must, though! And for a little more fun, here’s the history of the king cake from KingCake.com.
The King Cake is believed to have originated in France around the 12th century. These early Europeans celebrated the coming of the three wise men bearing gifts twelve days after Christmas calling it the Feast of the epiphany, Twelfth Night, or King’s Day.
The main part of the celebration was the baking of a King’s Cake to honor the three Kings. The cakes were made circular to portray the circular route used by the kings to get to the Christ Child, which was taken to confuse King Herod who was trying to follow the wise men so he could kill the Christ Child. 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 Day. The bean, pea and the coin have been replaced by a small plastic baby to symbolize the Christ Child. The person who gets the baby is expected to carry on the carnival festivities by hosting the next King Cake party.
Have you ever tried king cake? I love king cake season! I wrote up a review of king cakes here on the Westside a few years back. As of yet, for my taste, no one has dethroned the one that I considered the best that year!
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I have never eaten King Cake. Maybe I should give it a try.
I recommend it! There are a number of bakeries in Louisiana that will ship. My former mother-in-law, who was from Louisiana, would always send us king cake when we lived in Texas. She sent one for us and one for her grandson to take to school. She thought they needed a little Louisiana culture! 🙂