King Cake, that is.
Today is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Epiphany or El Dia de los Reyes (Day of the Kings) commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men or Magi, bearing g
ifts for the baby Jesus. Thanks to Mrs. D's grocery run last night, we celebrated with Rosca de Reyes. A plastic baby is baked into the bread. Mexican tra
dition dictates that the person who receives the piece of rosca with the doll inside must make tamales for the "Candelaria Day" party on February 2.Of course, the children researched (and shared with us) the many ways in which this day is celebrated around the world. We learned that in France, Kings Day is celebrated with a cake called Galette des Rois. A lucky charm called a feve, originally a bean, is baked into
the cake. In Mexico children write letters with their wishes and send them off to the Three Wise Men, tied to balloons. Puerto Rican children make boxes of hay or grass for the Kings' camels and place it under their beds. In the morning, they will find that the Three Kings have left them gifts. In Italy, La Befana arrives on her broomstick the eve of Epiphany and fills stockings with toys and sweets. According to the story, the kings visited an old woman (la Befana) on their way to the manger, but she was too busy to join them. Later, she decided to go but got lost. So every year on the 11th night, she flies around on her broomstick, bringing gifts to children in hopes that she might find the Baby Jesus.
What We're Reading:
The Legend of Old Befana by Tomie dePaola
the cake. In Mexico children write letters with their wishes and send them off to the Three Wise Men, tied to balloons. Puerto Rican children make boxes of hay or grass for the Kings' camels and place it under their beds. In the morning, they will find that the Three Kings have left them gifts. In Italy, La Befana arrives on her broomstick the eve of Epiphany and fills stockings with toys and sweets. According to the story, the kings visited an old woman (la Befana) on their way to the manger, but she was too busy to join them. Later, she decided to go but got lost. So every year on the 11th night, she flies around on her broomstick, bringing gifts to children in hopes that she might find the Baby Jesus.What We're Reading:
The Legend of Old Befana by Tomie dePaola
Updates are posted on the progress of our amaryllis!
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