Galette des Rois
One of my new year's resolutions is to blog more often. It was either that or "get out of debt" or "go to the gym regularly" or "volunteer to help the less fortunate." Aftr some deliberation, I settled on 1) blogging more and 2) enjoying more quality teen dramas on the WB network. Maybe I can combine the two, and blog about teen dramas on the WB network?
On an entirely unrelated note, I didn't win the fève.
Yesterday at work, we had a "Galette des Rois" party (I work for a French school, so there are a lot of parties). The galette is a sort of puff pastry that the French eat once a year, in celebration of some obscure religious holiday that may or may not have to do with Jerry Lewis. Hidden in the galette is the "fève," a little porcelin thingy, usually just large enough to block the wind pipe. This year it was a tiny cow, which may or may not be significant to the holiday in question. Whoever gets the slice with the lucky charm in it is supposed to have good luck all year long, unless of course they accidentally choke on it and die.
Over the years, I've heard at least 300 different versions of why the French eat the Galette des Rois. It's kind of like daylight savings time - everyone has a different explanation for why it occurs, but none of them make a damn bit of sense. In theory, the Galette des Rois has something to do with Epiphany, but that's another one of those things that nobody can explain. I bet, if cornered, the Pope himself would be stumped if he were on Jeopardy! and the answer to the Daily Double was What is Epiphany? Supposedly it has something to do with the kings that came to see baby Jesus. Now, I'm no biblical scholar, but I always thought the kings were there from the get-go? At least, that's the way it's usually depicted in the manger scenes at the mall, in front of Sears. Does this mean that the three kings got there late? Maybe they had to stop off at Discount Francensense & Myrrh Emporium, but it was a madhouse being Christmas, so they got stuck on the freeway, except they forgot that that excuse wouldn't really work for a few centuries still.
Maybe one of the kings had his kids with him, making it the first-ever Christmas family road trip. Maybe, after being asked, "are we there yet" one time too many, the king turned around to the princes in the back seat. "Do you want me to turn this camel around right now?" It being early on and all, the young princes didn't realize it was an idle threat. "Yes! Please take us home so that we can enjoy whatever it is that we do in this world without video games or TV!"
So, for the first and last time in history, the father actually turned around, and went back home. Little did he know that two thousand some-odd years later, people would not even know that he was the reason they were choking on a little porcelin cow.
On an entirely unrelated note, I didn't win the fève.
Yesterday at work, we had a "Galette des Rois" party (I work for a French school, so there are a lot of parties). The galette is a sort of puff pastry that the French eat once a year, in celebration of some obscure religious holiday that may or may not have to do with Jerry Lewis. Hidden in the galette is the "fève," a little porcelin thingy, usually just large enough to block the wind pipe. This year it was a tiny cow, which may or may not be significant to the holiday in question. Whoever gets the slice with the lucky charm in it is supposed to have good luck all year long, unless of course they accidentally choke on it and die.
Over the years, I've heard at least 300 different versions of why the French eat the Galette des Rois. It's kind of like daylight savings time - everyone has a different explanation for why it occurs, but none of them make a damn bit of sense. In theory, the Galette des Rois has something to do with Epiphany, but that's another one of those things that nobody can explain. I bet, if cornered, the Pope himself would be stumped if he were on Jeopardy! and the answer to the Daily Double was What is Epiphany? Supposedly it has something to do with the kings that came to see baby Jesus. Now, I'm no biblical scholar, but I always thought the kings were there from the get-go? At least, that's the way it's usually depicted in the manger scenes at the mall, in front of Sears. Does this mean that the three kings got there late? Maybe they had to stop off at Discount Francensense & Myrrh Emporium, but it was a madhouse being Christmas, so they got stuck on the freeway, except they forgot that that excuse wouldn't really work for a few centuries still.
Maybe one of the kings had his kids with him, making it the first-ever Christmas family road trip. Maybe, after being asked, "are we there yet" one time too many, the king turned around to the princes in the back seat. "Do you want me to turn this camel around right now?" It being early on and all, the young princes didn't realize it was an idle threat. "Yes! Please take us home so that we can enjoy whatever it is that we do in this world without video games or TV!"
So, for the first and last time in history, the father actually turned around, and went back home. Little did he know that two thousand some-odd years later, people would not even know that he was the reason they were choking on a little porcelin cow.
posted by Marguerite at 4:48 PM
2 Comments:
blogging more often is good, but i think you should write a book.
you could be an american Helen Fielding. if that sort of thing appeals to you.
what he said
Post a Comment
<< Home