Rosca de Reyes

In Mexico the Day of the Three Kings or the Epiphany (January 6), is celebrated by gathering with friends and family and sharing a Rosca de Reyes. A Rosca de Reyes, or Three Kings Ring, is a rich bread that is shaped in a circle and is usually adorned on the top with nuts or fruits. But the real surprise is that there is a plastic baby doll hidden inside to symbolize Jesus. There are many versions of this tradition, but one way is that the person who finds the baby doll hidden inside their piece of the bread has the honor of hosting the next party on February 2, inviting everyone present at the January 6 party to attend.

I took these photos probably over ten years ago, when DH and I were celebrating the holidays with his family in Mexico. So, quality of the photos is not the best, as they have been scanned and cropped considerably. The top photo is the finished bread just before it is cut.

Here my mother-in-law is braiding the dough.

Above, the photo is overexposed. But if you magnify the photo, you can see in the foreground the plastic baby dolls found hidden in a piece of the bread. My mother-in-law hid several plastic dolls in the ring, to ensure that someone would get one, and somehow Pedro and I both got one.