HISTORY OF THE KING CAKE

People gather for festive twelfth night celebrations all around the world. The Twelfth night is when the coming of the wise men bearing gifts to the Christ Child is celebrated.

Epiphany, Little Christmas, and the Twelfth Night are some of the names used for this celebration.

The baking of a special cake in honor of the three kings. A king cake was one of the most popular customs in this celebration of giving gifts. 

Hidden inside the cake was a bean or a plastic baby. The tiny plastic baby represented the Christ Child. The person who received it must portray one of the kings.

It is beleived that the lucky person who gets the baby will have good fortune for a complete year. The lucky person then continues the festivities by having another party or bringing another king cake. 

The first cakes were made of a simple ring of dough with little decoration. The New Orleans style king cake is decorated brightly with Mardi Gras colored sugars and icings. Some of the New Orleans style king cakes are made now with fillings of fruit and other tasty ingredients. 

The celebration originally took place on January 6, which is the twelfth night, but, now begins on the Twelfth Night after Christmas and continues through Mardi Gras, which is the day before Ash Wednesday. This is when the Lenton season begins. This time is now the entire carnival season.