What is the Festival of the Kings?
Join Lidia in Normandy as she celebrates the Festival of the Kings with her family.
Find out what food they eat in France and the traditions that take place on this special day.
Exploring the Festival of the Kings with Lidia
Lidia: Hi, I'm Lidia and today is Epiphany. In Normandy and all over France, we celebrate Epiphany or the Festival of the Kings – la Fête des Rois. We celebrate this national festival, using a special cake called a Kings' Cake – une Galette des Rois.
In January, throughout all France, boulangeries sell Galettes des Rois, but my favourite is the one from my local bakery.
Lidia:« Bonjour, je voudrais une Galette des Rois, s'il vous plaît. »
Shop assistant:« Au revoir. Merci. »
Lidia:« Merci. Au revoir. »
Lidia: Once we have bought the cake, we go to the market to buy the food for the guests. They sell everything from fruits – les fruits, vegetables – les légumes, meat – la viande, fish – le poisson and even fries – les frites.
Once we have all the ingredients, we are ready to go home for le déjeuner, a traditional, French lunch.
This year, we're celebrating Epiphany at my grandpa’s house – chez mon grand-père. We are heading there right now to have lunch and eat the Galette des Rois.
In France, mealtimes are important times for bringing everyone together and le déjeuner is the most important. It is a time for sitting around a table and spending quality time with friends and family.
But, let's not forget the most important thing, the pièce de résistance, la Galette des Rois.
Grandpa:« La Galette des Rois ! »
Lidia: But you can't just eat the cake. There's a special French tradition that you have to do before enjoying it. The youngest child, that's me, has to hide under the table and say which piece of the cake goes to who.
Lidia’s grandma:« T'es prête ? »
Lidia:« Oui. »
Lidia’s grandma:« Pour qui celle-là ? »
Lidia:« Pour mon frère. »
Lidia’s grandma:« Pour qui celle-là ? »
Lidia:« Pour ma grand-mère. »
Lidia’s grandma:« Pour qui celle-là ? »
Lidia:« Mon père. »
Lidia’s grandma:« Pour qui celle-là ? »
Lidia:« Pour moi. »
Lidia's grandpa:« La petite. »
Lidia’s grandma:« Pour qui celle-là ? »
Lidia:« Pour mon grand-père. »
Lidia's grandpa:« Merci. »
Lidia: Now we get to see who won the game. Whoever gets a charm in their piece is king or queen for the day. This year it’s my grandpa – mon grand-père. He gets to wear a special crown – une couronne, and tell everybody what to do.
When is the Festival of the Kings?
The Festival of the Kings takes place on 6 January, the 12th day after Christmas (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.), when Christians celebrate Epiphany, the arrival of the Three Kings after the birth of Jesus.
Markets in France
Lidia and her mother travel to the market (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) to buy some food for the celebration.
Markets are an important part of life in France. Most towns and villages have a market at least once a week selling local produce.
Did you spot what they were selling at the market in the video?
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | chips |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | fruit |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | vegetables |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | fish |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | meat |
How do French people celebrate the festival?
Like many families, Lidia buys a Kings’ Cake, (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.), a special cake made of pastry and almonds.
A charm is hidden inside the cake and whoever receives the piece of cake with the charm (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) in it, becomes king (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) or queen (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) for the day. They wear a special crown (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.).
Festivals and celebrations in France
Can you think of other times, when you might celebrate with your family like this? What about New Year and birthdays?
Here are some celebrations that take place in France:
Christmas - Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
In France, after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, some families gather together for a feast called Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.. This is usually a seafood starter and a main course such as goose, chicken, turkey, chestnuts and oysters followed by a dessert. This might be a yule log, a log-shaped cake made of chocolate and chestnuts.
In Provence, in the south of France, there’s a tradition of having 13 desserts!
In the north and north-east of France, the feast day of Saint-Nicolas is also celebrated on 6 December, when Father Christmas (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) brings small gifts and sweets for children.
New Year - Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
New Year’s Eve is celebrated with friends on 31 December. People have parties and towns and villages might have fireworks or dances.
Easter - Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
People give each other chocolate eggs and chocolate bells at Easter and there are Easter egg hunts like in the United Kingdom. It’s not the Easter Bunny who delivers the eggs, but the Easter Bells (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.). It is a tradition to serve a special dinner of lamb.
May Day - Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
The 1 May is celebrated around the world as a spring holiday and in France it is celebrated by giving friends and loved ones a small bouquet of Lily of the Valley (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) for good luck.
Eid - Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
Eid is 'The Feast of Breaking the Fast' and is celebrated by Muslims in France and worldwide to mark the end of Ramadan. People decorate their homes, spend time with their friends and family and eat a special celebratory meal.
Hanukkah - Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.
Jewish families in France celebrate Hanukkah or The Festival of Lights (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) in November or December every year. It lasts for eight days. A candle is lit on each day of the festival and families eat fried doughnuts (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again.) to celebrate the miracle of oil.
What to say at celebrations in France
Here are some useful phrases to say at celebrations in France:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Eid Mubarak! |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Happy New Year! |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Happy Birthday! |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Happy Hanukkah! |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Happy Christmas! |
Did you know?
Lidia has lunch at her grandfather’s house. In French, if you want to say you are at somebody's house, you add Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. before the person. For example, to say 'at my grandfather’s house', you say Check your connection, refresh the page and try again..
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. – at my grandmother's house
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. – at my house
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. – at my friend's house (boy)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. – at my friend's house (girl)
Key French words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | a crown |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | lunch |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my brother |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | a cake |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my grandmother |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my grandfather |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | my father |
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