Last night I celebrated Epiphany at my place in Ottawa’s east-end with two friends. They brought a Rosca de Reyes — a Ring of (Three) Kings, a traditional sweet bread in Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese culture, which contains hidden inside a small figurine of the baby Jesus. The person who gets the figurine is to host the next dinner party.
The guest who brought it got it — but she gave it to me to keep. I still think that means I’m going to dinner, plus I get to keep Jesus too. It’s a win/win, so to speak!
According to another friend, there are jumbo versions of this sweet bread too — and those include up to five or six Nativity characters, such as Mary, Joseph, an angel and a donkey. In Mexican culture, if you get the baby Jesus, it’s your turn to host a party on February 2nd — the Feast of Candlemas.
The ring of three kings shown in the photo from my place is the work of Ottawa’s Chiqui Bakery.
Photo: Ottawa Reflections