While technically the galette is served only on January 6th, which in Christianity is the day of “Epiphany” (the day that the three wise men visited the infant Jesus), today you can buy a galette des rois throughout January.
The galette des rois has quite a long history; the tradition has its roots in the “Saturnalia,” a festival that the ancient Romans celebrated at the end of December during which, among other things, the distinctions of social class were temporarily suspended. Each Roman family would bake a fava bean into a cake, serve the cake to the entire household, including their slaves, naming whoever found the bean the king or queen of the day with the power to order everyone else around as they pleased. In France, the first accounts of the galette des rois date from the 13th and 14th centuries. Around that time, the tradition of roi boit “king drinks” also developed; the roi boit said that whoever discovers the fava bean in their slice of galette has to buy everyone else a round of drinks. Many people started to cheat by swallowing the fava bean to avoid having to pay for the round of drinks, and eventually was replaced by a porcelain figurine that couldn’t be swallowed.
French people love their soirées – long evening get-togethers with food, drink, socializing, and general good spirits. So much of the socializing I’ve gotten to do in France with people outside of my immediate circle has happened at a soirée, after a concert or meeting or some other event.
