Thursday, January 10, 2013

Wintertime Traditions

Brown and white colored pencils on tan paper. * Lápices de color (marrón y blanco) en papel de color canela.
Una amiga en mi vecindario me invitó a compartir su Rosca de Reyes, un pan dulce que se come para celebrar el Día de Reyes en el 6 de enero. Era mi primera experiencia con esta tradición, pero cuando corté un pedazo para mi esposo, descubrí "el mono"--una figura pequeña de un niño, que representa el niño Jesus--¡escondida en el pan! El mono trae buena suerte, pero solo si el recipiente hace una fiesta a principios de febrero para los que compartían la Rosca de Reyes. Ya estoy planeando el menú... * A friend in my neighborhood invited me to share her Rosca de Reyes, a traditional sweetbread that is eaten for Three Kings Day on January 6. It was my first time experiencing this tradition, but when I cut off a piece for my husband, I discovered "el mono"--a little figure of a child, representing the baby Jesus--in the bread! El mono brings good luck, but only on the condition that the finder throws a party for everyone who was eating the sweetbread. I'm already planning the menu...

4 comments:

  1. Nice sketch and a story to go with it too. What happens if someone accidentally bites down on the el mono? Bad luck?
    I think the English have a similar custom of hiding jewelry in baked goods.

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  2. That's a great observation, Katharine. Lots of bad luck possible with el mono on practical level--cracked tooth, chocking hazard, etc! Luck is tricky stuff...::grin::

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  3. You have captured the look of good taste....I want to bite on it to experience the taste of it myself. And I love the story too. Some time ago I came across a small pink 'baby' as you have described and I always wondered what it was for or where it came from ?? could have been from a former Three Kings Day!

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    1. I like it when my drawings turn out yummy-looking! And now that I think of it, I have also run into tiny plastic babies in the past--I totally bet they came from a Rosca de Reyes.

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