What Is the Significance of the King Cake in New Orleans?
King Cakes are oval-shaped to symbolize the unity of faiths. Each cake is decorated in the traditional Mardi Gras colors – purple representing justice, green representing faith, and gold representing power. A small baby, symbolizing the baby Jesus, is traditionally hidden inside each King Cake.
What Is the Story Behind the King Cake?
The name “king cake” comes from the Biblical story of the three kings who bring gifts to Baby Jesus. A blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll, king cake is usually iced in yellow, green and purple – the colors of Mardi Gras — and is frequently packed with fruit fillings and decadent cream cheeses.
What Happens if You Get the Baby in the King Cake?
“There is traditionally a baby hidden inside the cake,” said Swift. “When the cake is sliced and served whoever gets the baby is declared king for the day. They also are responsible for hosting next year’s Fat Tuesday party and bringing the King Cake!”
Why Do They Hide a Baby in the King Cake?
Traditionally, a small porcelain baby, symbolizing Jesus, is hidden in the king cake and is a way for residents of New Orleans to celebrate their Christian faith. The baby symbolizes luck and prosperity to whoever finds it.
What Does the Hidden Baby Symbolize in a King Cake?
When a king cake is served at a Mardi Gras celebration, everyone wants to know who was served the slice with the baby—but what does it mean if you find one? Tradition dictates that finding the baby in your cake symbolizes luck and prosperity, and the finder becomes the “king” or “queen” of the evening.
Is King Cake a Catholic Thing?
A sweet, circular pastry, cake, or bread that is the centerpiece of a historically Catholic celebration known as Epiphany, which falls on January 6. Today it takes on many different forms and is found at a variety of similar celebrations with religious origins.
What Do the Colors of King Cake Represent?
Most king cakes are traditionally decorated in royal colors of purple, which signifies “justice,” green for “growth,” and gold meaning “prosperity and wealth.” These colors can be seen as chosen to resemble a jeweled crown honoring the three wise men and their gifts during the visit of the Christ Child on Epiphany.
Is the Baby in the King Cake Baby Jesus?
A miniature plastic baby, which symbolizes baby Jesus, is placed inside of each cake to signify the Epiphany. The person who gets the slice that contains the baby is known as the king. They are charged with the responsibility of bringing a king cake to the next event.
What Happens if You Cut the Baby in Half on a King Cake?
As you cut yourself a slice of the oval-shaped treat, they may inform you that whomever gets the piece with a small plastic baby inside has to bring the king cake themselves next time.
What Did the Original King Cake Look Like?
Originally, king cakes were a simple ring of dough with a small amount of decoration. After the rich dough is braided and baked, the top of the cake is covered with delicious sugar toppings in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold (purple for “justice,” green for “faith” and gold for “power”).
Is King Cake Just a Cinnamon Roll?
As Ruckman explains, “A typical New Orleans king cake is extremely similar to a large cinnamon roll, except the dough is braided and shaped into a circle. Basically, it has to have pastry, cinnamon, icing–powdered sugar frosting and lots of it, purple, green, and gold sugars, and the little plastic baby.”
Is King Cake a Mexican Tradition?
Did you know that the traditional “Rosca de Reyes” or King Cake originates from the Romans? That’s right, this tradition very much celebrated in Mexico on January 6, dates from Roman times where they honored the god Saturn and placed a coin in candy, and whoever found it became king for a day.
Featured Photo By Christian Science Monitor
