Guest Author - Linda J. Paul

The Twelfth Night of the twelve days of Christmas officially marks the end of the traditional mid winter holidays. It is considered to be an unlucky omen for the rest of the year if the Christmas decorations are not taken down by this night.

During the celebrations of the Roman Saturnalia, it was common to bake a cake with a bean, known as the good luck bean, inside. The person who was lucky enough to get that piece of cake became Master of the Saturnalia revelries. This custom lived on into Medieval and even modern day Twelfth Night celebrations.

In France the cake of the evening is called the galette des rois, which is a thin bread like cake. The cake is cut in the kitchen, with one more piece cut than there are guests. Each slice of cake is covered by a white napkin and is served by the youngest member at the party. Instead of a bean, a small china doll is baked into the cake. The person who gets the piece with the doll is given the title of Queen or King and is allowed to choose a consort. The extra piece of cake, which is called “le part a Dieu, is set aside for the first new person who comes through the door. The King and Queen reside over the rest of the evening amid mock ceremony and shouts of “The Queen drinks,” “The King laughs,” and “The Queen drops her handkerchief!”

In Italy, the beans were hidden in focaccia, a type of bread, rather than a cake. The focaccia contained four beans, three white beans for the Magi, and one black bean. Whoever had the black bean in their slice of focaccia was made king and was allowed to choose his queen and rule over the banquet. In some Italian communities, engagements are announced at this time. The remaining single folk are paired off, and if a girl is left without a partner she is given the title of Befana, the Italian Witch for the year.

In Portugal, the cake is ring shaped and called the bolo-Rei. It contains a dried lima bean which designates it’s finder as King, who also must make the cake the following year, according to custom. The cake also contains fortune telling favors as well as tiny amulets.

In Mexico, la Rosca de Reyes, a sweet circular cake is served with a doll baked inside representing the baby Jesus and is served with hot chocolate. The person who finds the baby in their slice is to host the forthcoming celebration Candelaria or Candlemas on February 2nd. It is on Candlemas that the nativity scene and all the Christmas decorations are put away.

England really gets creative with their cake, which is a rich, dense fruitcake containing both a bean and a pea. The man who finds the bean is King, the woman who finds the pea is Queen. However, in the event that a woman finds the bean, she is allowed to choose the King, and if a man finds the pea, he can choose the Queen. They host the evening requiring their “subjects” to carry out ridiculous tasks or behave in ways that are different than their usual roles. (Shades of Saturnalia!!)
Traditional foods served on Twelfth Night in England are hot and spicy, often with ginger added, and hot spiced cider.

Some parts of England had an interesting custom called wassailing the apple trees. People would gather at orchards and sing to the apple trees, toast to their health, pour hot cider over their roots, and leave cider soaked toast in the branches of the trees for the birds. It was also common to shout to scare away the evil spirits as well as fire a gun or two for the same purpose. (You really have to wonder where that custom came from!)

Twelfth Night feasts are held in many countries, including the United States on Jan. 6th.
We host a feast at the Unitarian Universalist church that I am associated with. Medieval garb abounds, with the King and Queen of the feast in properly royal attire. The food is served in trenchers, a type of bread bowl. Since that is the only type of plate that is available, eating your trencher to early on in the evening can be pretty messy. We have seven courses including salad, turnip and parsley soup, lemon rice, chicken, fried spinach, marinated carrots, and daryoles, a custard cup dessert. No cutlery is allowed, and people must eat with their fingers. Hot cider or sparkling cider round out the fare for the evening.

The entertainment for the night includes fortune telling, a bagpiper, medieval songs, and a jester. If someone wished to use the restrooms, they must first approach the King and Queen and ask to go and visit “Canterbury.” At the whim of the royalty they may proceed, or they must first tell a joke or sing a song. The food is served by the kitchen wenches and a taste tester is brought before the King’s table before each course to make sure that the food is not poisoned. It is a wonderful night and we all have a great deal of fun playing our parts.

The idea of baking objects into cake gave me the idea to bake different types of precious stones, like amethyst, carnelian, citrine, quartz etc., into a party cake for a Full Moon gathering at my house. I printed out cards with an explanation of the properties of each stone to give to their new owners. Everyone enjoyed the cake and the stones were a real bonus!

Check out the link below for a wonderful recipe for Twelfth Night Cake.