Happy New Year!
I wish you all a very happy new year, filled with joy and happiness, as well as all the best in your 2023 endeavors, whatever they may be.
And above all stay healthy!
Last, let’s hope that the world will see a more peaceful year, and start healing, which it desperately needs…
Like everybody, I am starting this year with new resolutions, and one of them is to keep on writing about the various facets of the French culture.
However, I will modify a little the content of the “Slice of France”. I will focus on one topic per article, and since in France “tout finit par des chansons” (“it all ends with songs”), I will close each post with a French song (or a song in French).
I hope the articles will be to your liking. So let’s get started!
The “Galette des Rois”: King or Queen for a day!
While the French are slowly recovering (sometimes with difficulty) from the end-of-year feasts (agapes), another secular celebration is being prepared: the sharing of the “galette des rois” (the “king cake” or “Epiphany cake” in English).
This tradition, which celebrates Epiphany, was one of my favorites as a kid.
It is usually held on January 6 (12th day of Christmas), but is commonly practiced throughout the first month of the year.
Remember that in the Christian religion, the Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the Three Kings at the manger where Jesus was born a few days earlier.
A centuries-old tradition
The tradition of the galette des Rois dates back to the 14th century.
It highlights the notion of sharing, and levels off, for one day, the gap between the rich and the poor, since everyone has the ability to become a king!
At the time, a fava bean (“fève” in French) was included in the cake. The person who received the piece of cake containing the bean was named king for a day!
Nowadays, the sharing of the cake , called "drawing the kings", is usually practiced as follows.
The youngest member of the family stands under the table, or has his/her back to it, and blindly chooses the share that will be allocated to each guest.
The person receiving the “fève” is named king or queen, and wears a gold paper crown (see picture above).
The person elected chooses in turn his queen or her king by placing another crown on their head.
This person is also supposed to buy a another cake the following week, which would bring another episode of "drawing the kings"!
In order to avoid this expenditure, some people would simply swallow the bean!
For that reason, the bean was little by little replaced with a trinket made of porcelain, not that easy to swallow…
The “Fava Bean”
Before Christianity, the Greeks used the fava bean to vote. For instance, in their judiciary system, a white bean meant acquittal while the black one indicated conviction.
In the Roman era, masters and slaves exchanged their respective roles as well as their clothes based on who had gotten the fava been. The newly selected "monarch" would give fanciful orders and was served by the masters.
In the garrisons, a king chosen by the soldiers among those sentenced to death would take part in the collective debauchery before being… beheaded!
During the Middle Ages, the fava bean was the symbol of life and was, made into a soup, the peasants basic food.
Note that during the French Revolution, the term “galette des rois” was banned and replace by “equality galette”! However, the tradition moved on…
Today the modern “fèves” are usually made out of porcelain or plastic, and can take varied shapes and forms, with or without a religious meaning.
Note that in France, “La fabophilie” is a hobby that consists in collecting the “fèves” from the the king cakes.
“Fabophilia” has a very different meaning in English. It characterized someone who is in love with all things fabulous. Don’t get confused!
The Cake
Cake making varies from one region to another. It is generally a puff pastry filled with frangipane, a sweet almond-flavored custard. The result is an absolutely delicious, both moist and crispy pastry.
Believe me, one slice is rarely enough, “fève” or not!
My Grandmother and the “fève”
A long time ago my grandfather and my grandmother were invited to “draw the kings” at the French Embassy of a foreign country along with a panel of VIPs an other dignitaries. The Ambassador and his wife hosted the event.
Once the shares of the cake were allocated, my grandmother, 25 years old at the time, realized with quite an anguish that she had inherited the famous “fève”!
She understands that she has de facto become the queen of the evening and will have to choose a king, who, of course, can only be the Ambassador himself!
Not feeling the courage to face the consequences of her sudden notoriety in front of such a large audience, she makes a split-second decision and nimbly swallows the bean!
A little later, the ambassador's wife profusely apologized to her guests and assured them that the pastry chef will be held accountable for forgetting to insert the precious fève in the galette! As she was speaking, she didn't notice that my grandmother's face was turning pure crimson…
Joe Dassin: “Les Champs-Elysées”
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is an avenue of Paris, France, running between the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe. It is commonly regarded as the "most beautiful avenue in the whole world".
Joe Dassin was an American–French singer-songwriter. He was born in New York City in 1938 to American film director Jules Dassin (1911–2008) and Béatrice Launer (1913–1994). Dassin lived in New York City and Los Angeles until his father fell victim to the Hollywood blacklist in 1950, at which time his family moved to Europe.
“Les Champs-Elysées” was a major success in France in 1969.
Joe Dassin was a very popular singer, who had several hits in France and Europe in the 70s.
He died of a heart attack in Tahiti at a young age of 41.
I also like a recent cover of the song by the American band “Pomplamoose”. Enjoy!