The custom of eating this sweet is very old and is also done in other Spanish-speaking and European countries.
Cream, cream or for those with a sweet tooth there is also chocolate. The Christmas holidays culminate in Spain with the tradition of eating the Roscón de Reyes on January 6. The roscón de Reyes is a traditional sweet in Spain that consists of a bun covered in fruit and filled with cream, cream or chocolate, with candied fruit on top and that hides a surprise inside. In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, this sweet is eaten on the night of Kings and also a day later, on January 6, while the little ones open their gifts.
Origin of the tradition of eating roscón
Everyone in Spain knows that this sweet is traditionally eaten on Three Kings Day, but what many are unaware of is where this custom comes from. As in many other deep-rooted traditions, there are different stories, but the best known about the origin of the roscón is related to the Roman Saturnalia. During the Saturnalia festivities, a celebration of the god Saturn in Ancient Rome on the occasion of the solstices, round cakes with pumpkin, figs, dates and honey were consumed and distributed among commoners and slaves. In each cake they hid a dry bean and whoever found it became the ‘King of the party’, who ‘ruled’ during the days that the celebration lasted.
The Roman tradition has endured and already in the 12th century was the moment in which the roscón de Reyes obtained the name with which it would come to the present day, the tradition of hiding a dry bean also continued. In many places in Spain, tradition says that whoever finds the bean must pay for the roscón or pay for the next one. There are also those who associate this tradition of eating a roscón with a complementary edible representation of the advent wreath.
When Christianity became the general religion, many pagan traditions were no longer celebrated. It is believed that it was thanks to King Louis XV of France, in the 17th century, that the tradition of eating this sweet bun more similar to how it is known today spread. The king fell in love with some roscones that he tasted in Provence and wanted to extend this sweet to the European aristocracy, which would soon reach the town.
To please the French monarch, it is said that they introduced a gold medallion and diamonds in the Roscón de Reyes. This new prize caused that nobody wanted the bean. Felipe V also introduced this trend in Spain with the idea of a good prize and a bad prize. This sweet is still a tradition to this day and no one misses their appointment with the roscón on Three Kings Day.
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