*Ø* Blogmanac January 6 | Twelfth Night revels
Epiphany, or Twelfth Day
Epiphany, the oldest festival on the Christian Church calendar, is a national holiday in at least 15 nations. Celebrations generally are related to children.
The name derives from the Greek word meaning appearance of a god. It commemorates the visit of the Magi, or Three Wise Men, to the baby Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem, and also His baptism as an adult. Because of the latter, many customs today have watery associations, such as the blessing of fishing fleets in harbours around the world ...
Twelfth Cake
On Twelfth Night, English people held parties and ate the Twelfth Cake. Inside were baked a bean and a pea; he who found the bean was king for the day, and she who found the pea was queen. It might be that this came from the Roman festival of the Saturnalia, at the end of which children drew lots with beans to see who would be “king”.Both French and English revellers on Epiphany enjoyed special cake on the occasion. The English version, called a Twelfth Cake, was taller and fluffier than the French kind, and elaborately decorated with frosting. Lucky charms, to be found by diners, were baked inside, such as a ring to foretell marriage, a button for a single life and coins for wealth.
In seventeenth-century England, the Epiphany Cake was made with honey, ginger, pepper and flour. When it was cut up, slices for Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Magi were given to the poor. Whoever found a coin baked into the cake was made “king” and hoisted to the ceiling, where he chalked crosses on the rafters.
When any member of a family in old England was absent from the Twelfth Night revels, a piece of Twelfth Cake was kept for them. If the absent one was in good health, the cake would remain fresh, but if ill, the cake would perish. Or, so it was said ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in two big pages of folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
[If you've been waiting for today's Almanac ezine, please excuse the delay. It's all because of my ISP's POP server.]
Epiphany, or Twelfth Day
Epiphany, the oldest festival on the Christian Church calendar, is a national holiday in at least 15 nations. Celebrations generally are related to children.
The name derives from the Greek word meaning appearance of a god. It commemorates the visit of the Magi, or Three Wise Men, to the baby Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem, and also His baptism as an adult. Because of the latter, many customs today have watery associations, such as the blessing of fishing fleets in harbours around the world ...
Twelfth Cake
On Twelfth Night, English people held parties and ate the Twelfth Cake. Inside were baked a bean and a pea; he who found the bean was king for the day, and she who found the pea was queen. It might be that this came from the Roman festival of the Saturnalia, at the end of which children drew lots with beans to see who would be “king”.Both French and English revellers on Epiphany enjoyed special cake on the occasion. The English version, called a Twelfth Cake, was taller and fluffier than the French kind, and elaborately decorated with frosting. Lucky charms, to be found by diners, were baked inside, such as a ring to foretell marriage, a button for a single life and coins for wealth.
In seventeenth-century England, the Epiphany Cake was made with honey, ginger, pepper and flour. When it was cut up, slices for Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Magi were given to the poor. Whoever found a coin baked into the cake was made “king” and hoisted to the ceiling, where he chalked crosses on the rafters.
When any member of a family in old England was absent from the Twelfth Night revels, a piece of Twelfth Cake was kept for them. If the absent one was in good health, the cake would remain fresh, but if ill, the cake would perish. Or, so it was said ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in two big pages of folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
[If you've been waiting for today's Almanac ezine, please excuse the delay. It's all because of my ISP's POP server.]
Pip Wilson posted item above at 10:18 PM | Permalink
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