Christmas may celebrate the birth of Christ – and Santa sailing down the chimney with gifts – but in Mexico, there is a bigger, home-grown holiday acknowledging the birth of Christianity.
Jan. 6 is El Dia De Reyes, or the Epiphany. It’s the day that the Hispanic world honors the Three Wise Men and their journey to Bethlehem bearing gifts for the infant Jesus.
A combination community party and family get together, El Dia De Reyes has all the trappings of a major festival, right down to the food.
One of the most important parts of the feast is the Rosca de Reyes, or the King Cake. It’s a giant pastry made of sweet egg bread, with lots of sugar and candied fruit.
But the most important part is what’s hidden inside the cake – a tiny baby Jesus.
According to Juan Murguia, owner of La Huerta Mexican and Latin Market in Kent, it’s the Jesus figure that makes the cake special.
When you serve the cake up on El Dia De Reyes, the person lucky (or unlucky) enough to get Jesus in their slice must make a big dinner for all the guests two months later.
“They cut a piece, and it’s ‘okay, in two months,'” Murguia said, noting a lot of cakes will have more than one Jesus figurine in them, so that one person isn’t stuck making dinner for everyone else.
With El Dia De Reyes set to unfold in just a few days, Murguia and his crew are preparing for the celebration by doing what they’ve traditionally done for the past several years, taking orders for the special cake.
Last year they baked about 900 cakes, complete with Jesus inside. They’re expecting to get that many orders this year, too, mainly from Hispanic families who are continuing the El Dia De Reyes tradition. For the next several days, Murguia’s store will be up to its proverbial eyeballs in dough, as his baker goes into mass production with the confection.
“We got three ovens and I think we can probably cook 15 to 20 at a time,” Murguia said.
The shop owner hastened to add that while they’re taking orders for the cake, they’ll have a few extra set aside, too.
A few years ago, the cakes were such a hot item that two women got into a fist fight over the last one the store had.
“Two ladies were fighting for one – it was really bad,” Murguia said. “I had to tell them there were other customers around and they would have to leave the store.”
This year, he said, “I told my baker we’re gonna need extra.”
La Huerta is selling the cakes in three sizes: large, which feeds about 13; medium, good for seven to eight people; and small, which feeds about five people.
Murguia stressed this year they’re reducing the prices on the cake, too, due to the difficult economy.
“We try to make a nice price for our customers,” he said.
Murguia, who is from Jalisco, Mexico, said King Cake has been a part of his family’s holiday tradition since he was a youngster.
And yes, he’s uncovered his fair share of infant Jesus figurines in the cake he’s eaten over the years.
So does everyone who gets a Jesus figurine ‘fess up and make dinner?
Not all the time.
“People swallow them so they don’t have to do that,” Murguia said, with a grin.
Get your King Cake
La Huerta Mexican and Latin Market is taking orders now for King Cake. The confection will be ready in time for El Dia De Reyes Jan. 6.
To place your order, call the store at 253-520-4760, go online to www.lahuertamarket.com, or visit the store in person at 405 E. Smith St., Kent.
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