Le Dimanche des Rois

Instead of sleeping in and doing nothing but watch music videos on TV all day (I only get 2 channels on my TV – a music channel and a channel dedicated to horses), I woke up early, did some cleaning in my studio and went to Lyon.

Fortunately, there is a bus that takes me from Villefranche to Lyon for only 2E. But, for 1.10E extra, I also get a ticket to use the metro, which is usually 1.60E. It doesn’t seem like a bargain, but considering that with the train I have to pay between 3.20E to 4.80E depending on the time and then have to pay 1.60E every time I use the public transportation in Lyon, the bus is a much cheaper option.

Anyways, I got to Lyon around noon and then went over to Maggie’s place. She invited me to go to a galette tasting party. Similar to what I do with my family, the French and Spanish eat traditional cakes on January 6th to celebrate the arrival of the 3 Kings to greet the baby Jesus. They usually look like this:

Geraldine, the Spanish teacher at the high school Maggie works at, invited her to come over and taste them. Maggie didn’t want to go alone, so she invited me to go with her. I was happy to have gone because I was able to learn a little more about the similarities and differences between cultures.

I recognized the cakes right away. But, I had no idea that the same idea behind them existed. For example, in the French tradition, the cakes were cut into slices. Then, since I was the youngest, I was able to say who got the first piece, second piece, etc. The idea is that I distribute the pieces randomly and hopefully, someone will find the little plastic figure inside their slice. This means that they then have to invite everyone over to their place for a meal on a specific day in late January or February. Maggie and Anne, Geraldine’s friend, were lucky and got the figurines in their slices. In France, whoever finds the figurines, gets to wear a gold paper crown.

In Mexico, or at least at my house, the tradition is to buy a Rosca de Reyes and everyone takes turn cutting a piece, instead of having someone distribute the pieces. Also, the figures tend to be plastic babies, while in France they can be babies, plastic cartoon vegetables, or one of the 3 kings. But, the same concept applies to those who find the baby in their slice – they’ll have to invite everyone over to their house.

All in all, Sunday was a day full of learning. I found out that the French also celebrate with Galette de Rois and also learned that it is okay in the South of Spain to drink white wine and Sprite mixed together to create a very refreshing, yet potentially dangerous, drink. But, I guess it makes sense since in Barcelona, Coke and red wine mixed together is a favorite.

Now, I have the prefect drinks for the warm summer months in California.