La
Fête Des Rois
There is a special tradition in France that is celebrated
the 1st Sunday of each New Year. The celebration is "La Fête des
Rois" (Three Kings Day) and includes a king, a queen and a special cake.
Each year, pastry shops throughout France are teeming with the unique and tasty
galette des rois, a flat pastry about the size of a pizza while French
children eagerly await the ceremony that accompanies the galette.
Origin of the Fête des Rois
The French celebration of "La Fête des Rois" is
a merging of two ancient traditions. The Roman pagan celebration, "Les
Saturnales" and the Christian celebration of Epiphany, is the arrival of
the three wise men in Bethlehem.
During antiquity times (B.C.), the Romans celebrated
"Les Saturnales", a week long festival which took place from December
17th to December 24th. The Romans went all out to celebrate this event and
enjoyed huge feasts with a great deal of wine, games and other types of
debauchery. Though the Roman celebrations are known for great excess, "Les
Saturnales" also represented a wish for prosperity, health and peace for
all citizens. During the celebration, the Romans would reverse traditional
roles - masters would serve the slaves and they would eat together at the same
table. The Romans also gave small gifts to friends and family during the
celebration. Oftentimes, the present would be a small cake, which contained a
small bean (la féve). The person who found the féve in their
slice of cake would be crowned king of the feast.
The Christian tradition of Epiphany has developed over
time. The word epiphany comes from the Greek word "epiphaneia" which
means apparition or manifestation. Initially, Christian tradition relayed the
voyage of the three wise men to the birthplace of Jesus. It was the apostle,
Saint Matthew, who named the three wise men, Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar (known
as Gaspard in French). In the 5th century, the identity of the three wise
men was further explained and each wise man became a king. Caspar was the king
of Arabia, Melchior was the king of Persia and Balthazar was the king of India.
These three kings represented non-Christian faiths and symbolized that Jesus
was placed on the earth for people of all faiths. In 1801, the French Concordat
was signed between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII re-establishing the Catholic
Church in France. As part of the Concordat, the date for Epiphany was set on
January 6th. The twelve days that are between Christmas Day and Epiphany
represent each month of the year. These twelve days are celebrated in song,
most notably, the song "Twelve Days of Christmas".
Many European countries celebrate Three Kings Day. In
Spain, toys are given to children on this day to symbolize the gifts that the
three wise kings gave to Jesus. In Italy, presents are often given on Epiphany
as well as on Christmas.
In France, families celebrate "La Fête des Rois"
with a delicious cake and the crowning of a king and queen. The French have
combined the cake tradition from the Romans and the arrival of the three wise
kings in Bethlehem to create a tradition of their own.
How the French Celebrate Today
There are three important elements to the French tradition
of La Fête des Rois; the galette des rois, the féve (a
small object that is placed in the galette des rois) and the crowning of the
king and queen.
Galette des Rois
The galette des rois is a cake made from
puff pastry with frangipan stuffing. Frangipan is an almond paste used in many
desserts. Some regions such as the south of France, do not use the frangipan
stuffing, instead, their galette is simply a brioche. The brioche is
often served with candied fruit and sprinkled with sugar.
Galettes des rois are available from the local patisserie or grocery
store, however, many French people still bake the cake at home. When you
purchase a galette des rois at a local pastry shop, it will come with
two crowns for the king and queen of the day. You can also purchase la féve
from the pastry shop.
La Féve
The féve has been greatly transformed from the initial
bean used by the Romans. The word féve refers to a type of bean, but it
is also the word for the object placed in the galette des rois, which
was originally a bean . In the French tradition, the féve was a small
porcelain piece, often in the shape of a person, that would be placed
discreetly in the cake. The first porcelain féves were made in Germany
in the 1870's. The traditional theme was to recreate the nativity scene
characters such as baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. As féves became popular, many
different shapes and types were produced. Since the 1890's the themes have
greatly expanded to include collections of féves in the shape of lucky
charms (four-leaf clover, horse shoe, etc.) or household objects. Some of these
collections are made from a variety of materials such as gold, stainless steel
and plastic. Historically, the main manufacturer of féves was
Limoges-Castel which produced over six million féves each year.
Although Limoges-Castel no longer makes féves,
the féve tradition has become very commercialized in France. Many
companies create féves as a means of advertising their products. You can
now purchase féves in the shape of Disney characters and other famous
animated characters. The French television station TF1 even sponsored a contest
in the 1980's which awarded a new car to the collector of five TF1 féves.
The Musée de Blain in the Loire Valley has the
largest collection of féves in the world. Collectors of féves are
known as fabophiles and many attend the special marché des féves
organized each March in Blain. There are many guide books for collectors of féves
that list the going price for antique pieces. You can even start your own
collection by purchasing féves on E-bay.
Crowning of the King and Queen
The féve is discreetly placed in the galette des
rois prior to serving it. The cake is then cut so that there is a piece for
everyone who is present as well as a spare piece called la part des pauvres.
This extra slice is cut as a symbol for loved ones who are no longer with us
and for those who are less fortunate. Nowadays, the slice is also designated
for the unexpected visitor and is saved for a later treat.
Traditionally, the youngest family member would slide
underneath the table and designate how the slices would be distributed. This
prevents cheating since the baker of the cake does not choose how the slices
are handed out. After each family member was served, the cake would be eaten
and the person who discovered the féve was king for the day and selected
his queen. Many families now place two féves in the cake, one for the
king and one for the queen to avoid family disputes. The designated king and
queen wear gold paper crowns.
La Fête des Rois is a wonderful ending to the Christmas
season. Many French schools celebrate this holiday by serving the galette to
students and creating crowns to wear. There are also many French songs that
celebrate la fête des Rois, to find a listing of these songs go to http://www.momes.net/dictionnaire/e/epiphanie/textes.html
Questions/Trivia
1. When is La Fête des Rois celebrated in France?
2. Which two ancient traditions have merged into the French celebration?
3. What did the Romans call the week-long celebration between December 17th and
December 24th?
4. How did the Romans celebrate this festival?
5. What was the role reversal that occurred during this festival?
6. From where does the word "Epiphany" originate?
7. What happened in 1801?
8. Epiphany is officially set on what day?
9. What do the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany represent?
10. What do Spanish children receive on Three Kings Day?
11. Traditionally, out of what is the galette des rois made?
12. What type of cake do people serve in the south of France?
13. What does the word féve mean?
14. When were the first porcelain féves made?
15. How many féves did Limoges-Castel make each year?
16. Which TV station sponsored a contest featuring féves in the 1980's?
17. What are collectors of féves known as?
18. When is the special market for féves?
19. What does the part des pauvres symbolize?
20. Traditionally, what did the youngest member of the family do during the
serving of the galette? Why?
Vocabulary
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Activities
1. Celebrate la Fête des Rois: Have students make their own
galette des rois (see below for recipe). Students can also use their creative
abilities to create a crown for the king and queen. Note: A dried or
roasted bean can be used as the féve for the galette.
2. Create a theme for a set of féves: Have students use their
imagination to create a theme for a set of four féves. Students may draw their
feves on paper and then decorate them or, for more ambitious students, they can
then take their designs to a local pottery place (or bring their own modeling
clay to class) to make them from clay.
Galette des Rois
Serves
6
INGREDIENTS:
Crust
2 store-bought puff pastry sheets
Filling cream
125g butter
125g sugar
125g ground almonds
3 eggs
Puff pastry is too difficult to make at home and can be
bought frozen at the supermarket; it must be thawed before you start preparing
the galette.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make the cream filling
(called "frangipan") mix the sugar and butter and beat until smooth.
Add the almonds and the eggs, and beat until smooth again (this can be done in
a food processor). On a slightly floured cold surface, cut 2 circles the size
of dinner plates out of the puff pastry. Put one of them on a floured baking
sheet. Spread the frangipan cream on the circle, starting from the center, up
to 2cm from the border. Brush water on the edge around the cream and place the
second circle on top of the first one. Press all around the edges to seal them
together. If desired, you can decorate the galette by drawing patterns with a
fork and brushing the top with an extra beaten egg.
Bake the galette for 25 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees
(until brown). Do not open over door for the first 15 minutes of baking, this
will make the cake fall. Serve warm or slightly cooled.
Copyright © 2002 A.F.A.C.