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Growing up, I looked forward to the Epiphany, which celebrates the three kings taking gifts to Baby Jesus. My excitement, however, was really about king cakes. In the “old days,” there was no eating – or buying – a king cake before Jan. 6, affectionately called King Cake Day.
There was just the plain king cake with purple, green and gold sugar – no icing or filling, just the original McKenzie’s version. The bean, then later a porcelain doll hidden inside the cake, were replaced with a plastic baby, and whoever got it brought the next king cake. That tradition holds true today.
– Betsie Gambel, Founder, Gambel Communications