Plastic Jesus Inside Your Cake

King cake may look like the sloppy work of a toddler ― it’s covered in a mess green, yellow and purple frosting or sprinkles, and someone left a plastic toy baby inside of it ― but there’s a whole lot of Mardi Gras symbolism behind it.

King cake is a frosted, bready cake eaten between January 6, or King’s Day, and Fat Tuesday. According to tradition, a little plastic baby (which is supposed to symbolize baby Jesus) is put inside the cake.

Putting a choking hazard inside a cake might sound strange to you, but it’s a tradition that started centuries ago in old world Europe.

During ancient pagan festivals, a bean was originally hidden inside the cake. Later, in medieval France, the cake became associated with Christianity and the Epiphany when they branded it the galette des rois (which literally translates into “king cake”).

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