Today is the Feast of the Three Kings, also known as the Epiphany or Twelfth Night. It also the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which begins on Christmas day (not, as many believe, on December 13th).
When I was a student in France, we celebrated the days leading up to “la Fete des Rois” with a galette des rois and Champagne. The galette had a bean baked into it, and person who found the bean got to wear a crown – and had to throw the next party. In the US, we have a similar tradition on Mardi Gras.
There are four crowns pictured above – one for each of the Wise Men, and one for the winner of “tirer les rois.”
Happy Epiphany!