Since time immemorial, foods have been varying with their hedonic ability to evoke pleasure. Although the relative values accustomed to foods differ from one person to another and among cultures, pleasure is mostly used to determine a strong desire for food and preference that comes with it. Elsewhere, emotions contribute profoundly to the preferences accorded to foods. While blissful appreciation of food types may mean conventional agreements to particular emotions evoked by feelings aligned to specific foods, rejection mainly emanates from the fact attributed to foods that lead to a sense of disgust ( Martins & Pliner, 2006 ). In most traditional and modern societies, particular foods are preferred on specified occasions and markedly used to illustrate the success of the function. As such, the Epiphany or the Three King’s Day refers to a little Christmas, a Christian feast day that marked the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ, where food was intrinsic to the success of the day. In addition, foods served on the Three Kings Day celebration bore disparate symbolisms to provide a specific meaning and context for the ceremony. As such, this paper focuses on evaluating the distinctive foods used in the epiphany, their symbolic dispositions, preparations, and the changes experienced with the adopted modern use of these foods, especially in a world prone to immigration and globalization.
Rosca de reyes
It is in the tradition of the epiphany to eat the Three Kings Cake, better known in Spanish as known as Rosca de reyes. This event takes place on January 6 th to commemorate the visit of the three wise men when Jesus was born in Bethlehem ( Three Kings' Day, 2018) . In Spain and Hispanic America, this date is when children traditionally received presents attributed to the practice of the Three wise men and not from contemporary set up, where Santa Claus or father Christmas exercise that mandate. Before the children go to sleep, they leave a dish full of biscuits and glasses of water for the wise men and the camel they are presupposed to ride on. Inside Rosca de reyes, a figure of Jesus Christ is hidden throughout the preparation process. This symbolizes the fleeing of the holy family as the illustration of freeing from King Herod when he massacred the innocent. Whoever finds Jesus figurine is crowned the “godparent” of Jesus in that specific year. As such, he or she then has to take the figurine to church on February 2, Candlemas day. In Mexican culture, the person who gets Jesus’s figurine is required to host a dinner and afford tamales and atole for the guests ( Romero-Gwynn, & Gwynn, 1990 ). Despite the name of the cake suggesting a round shape, it is generally oval due to the need of making it larger in parties with many participants. Rosca de reyes has varying preparation recipes that differ from country to country. Figs, quinces, cherries, and candied fruits are used for decorations. The traditional preparation of the cake dates back to 300 years ago with the preparation of the French bread, dough with sugar, and beans on top and inside respectively. Other three king’s cake was made of brioche and a pastry of French origin. In the modern-day recipes, the dough is made by use of; milk, sugar, unsalted butter, teaspoon, eggs, instant yeast, cinnamon, chopped nuts, favorite fruit blend, orange, lemon, or lime zest. Garnishing is done by use of candied red cherries and orange peel. Garnishing can also be exemplified by the use of toasted sliced almonds, pecans, cashew or walnuts. The preparation process, however, varies among individuals and cultures.
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French King Cake
In France, the epiphany is marked through the presence of a sweet almond-stuffed puff pastry better known as galette des rois , which can either be circular or rectangular. The cake is made of flaky puff pastry layers and a dense center of frangipane or apple ( Ozouf, 1991) . According to the French tradition, the preparation of the cake was meant to draw the kings to the epiphany. Similarly to the Spanish culture, a figurine is hidden within the cake, and the person who finds the trinket in their slices is crowned the king of the day. They also have to offer the next cake in the following epiphany. Initially, the figurine used in French epiphany was a broad bean, but it was replaced by a variety of other figurines in the 1870s. Following this diversification, the figurines have become popular, and a number of collectibles can be bought separately. The modern practice of baking the French king cakes is linked to a variety of movie themes and cartoons thus promoting the works of art created by various movie stars while contributing to economic efficiency in peak seasons as the epiphany. The cakes are sold while wrapped in special bags to avoid tampering with their crispness. Also, there is a paper crown that is included in the cake used to crown the king who finds the figurine in the cake. The cake was formerly cut into a share equal to the number of guests, plus an additional piece that symbolized the share of God, that of Virgin Mary, and the poor that was intended for the first person who arrived home.
Bolo rei
Bolo rei refers to a traditional Portuguese cake eaten around Christmas until the date of the Epiphany. This is from 25 December to 6 th January. Also, Bolo rei represents the common dessert in the Portuguese home during their holiday ventures. Similar to Rosca de reyes, bolo rei derives its history from the French’s king cake back in the 19 th century when Confeitaria Nacional was established in 1829 and later founded the first Portuguese bakery ( Riegelhaupt,1973 ). The cakes have a circular shape with a large hole in the middle. Bolo rei is baked from flour, eggs, butter, dried fruit, nuts, and candied fruit. The preparation process also includes the input of a dried fava bean. The Portuguese tradition specifies that upon finding the fava bean, one is obligated to pay for the bolo rei baked the following year. The procedure also included immersing a meta toy to serve as a prize, but this observation was discontinued since the mid-1990s due to potential choking hazards attributed to the practice. In the present-day, the preparation of the Bolo rei has extensively progressed with the recent notable preparation of a giant bolo rei in 2009 in the town of Olhao. The king cake measured about 70 meters and weighed approximately 200 kilograms.
Fotokoliva
Epiphany in Greece refers to Theofania . Fotokoliva was a food custom practiced by the Greeks on the eve of the Epiphany ( Petridou, 2016 ). Specifically, fotokoliva in Crete indicated the importance of the paramony of the theophaneia, which meant the day before the epiphany. It was an important day as according to the religion, the skies opened up to let the farm animals talk in a human voice to report to God whether their masters were taking care of them appropriately and if they were happy living with them. Following the day of the epiphany, the Lord expected no complaints from the animals. Fotokoliva was a mixture of legumes that were boiled together to comprise human food and animals altogether. Moreover, Fotokoliva was used as a salad for the festive meal prepared in the actual day of the Epiphany, February 6 th . In this day, meat was necessary. Notably, Fotokoliva was a mixture of garbanzos, lentils, wheat, fava, and regular beans all boiled together to form a special type of soup. The delicacy is served with lemon and Cretan olive oil. It is also garnished with onions and dill. The old custom of the Crete is, however, forgotten in the present day epiphany practices of the Greeks.
Conclusion
The epiphany marks crucial religious manifestations of Christ among various Christian cultures. While the activities of the epiphany significantly vary from one culture to another, it is indisputable that special foods were requisite for the day. Some preparation commenced as early as on 25 th December to the twelfth day and to the 6 th of February, the Three Kings Day. It is also evident that most food delicacies adopted among various ethnicities were specially made cakes. Particularly, the Spanish prepared Rosca de reyes , the French had galette des rois , and the Portuguese prepared Bolo rei. All types of cakes mentioned signified various doctrines within the culture, upon which the residents aimed to fulfill accordingly. A more distinctive food of the epiphany is the Fotokoliva that symbolized the unifying of both the people and animals with God. The traditional methodologies of preparing most foods have since evolved with the dynamics of globalization, but the epiphany continues to shape modern food recipes as the celebrations of the Three Kings Day still thrives.
References
Martins, Y., & Pliner, P. (2006). “Ugh! That's disgusting!”: Identification of the characteristics of foods underlying rejections based on disgust. Appetite , 46 (1), 75-85.
Petridou, G. (2016). Divine epiphany in Greek literature and culture . Oxford University Press.
Riegelhaupt, J. F. (1973). Festas and Padres: The Organization of Religious Action in a Portuguese Parish 1. American Anthropologist , 75 (3), 835-851.
Romero-Gwynn, E., & Gwynn, D. B. (1990). Foods and dietary patterns of Latinos of Mexican descent: monograph . University of California, Cooperative Extension.
Ozouf, M. (1991). Festivals and the French revolution . Harvard University Press.
Three Kings' Day. (2018). Three Kings' Day. Retrieved from https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Three+Kings%27+Day
