The name “King Cake” is a reference to the Biblical story of the three kings or wisemen who brought gifts when Jesus was born ...

Americans usher in the new year with lifestyle resolutions galore, but many people across the globe — particularly those from predominantly Catholic countries — celebrate the calendar change with a ...

The culture in New Orleans during Mardi Gras is rich, with no shortage of traditions, including the king cake, the secretly placed baby inside the sweet pastry, and the many facets of symbolism ...

The small, plastic baby baked inside of king cakes is one of the most well-known traditions of Mardi Gras. Everyone knows if you get the baby, you have to buy the next delicious purple ...

Across all these traditions, the common denominator is a small figurine of a baby, or another symbolic trinket, that is hidden inside the cake. The person who nearly consumes the figurine in their ...

As for the person who finds the baby Jesus in their slice of bread king cake, it looks like they will be in charge of hosting a feast and providing tamales, or other traditional dishes ...

(The plastic baby hidden inside king cakes today is a nod to this story.) King cake also appears on tables throughout the Carnival season, which runs from Epiphany to Fat Tuesday (the day before ...

In these king cakes, finding the hidden baby can be a sign of luck and prosperity for the coming year — and the impending responsibility to bring the king cake next year.