Three Kings Day by Ruby

Swissgreys

Swissgreys

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Today in Switzerland it is Three Kings Day (Dreikönigstag).
On 3 kings day you buy a special bread, and everyone in the family gets to choose one piece.
Inside one of the pieces is a small plastic king, and the person with the king in their bread gets to wear a crown and be in charge of everything for the day.

This year the little slave insisted that the big slave (the boring one) buy the largest bread available, so everyone could have a piece.
The big slave said 3 kings bread wasn’t necessary for pets, but the little slave was very persistent about this.
The big slave sighed a lot and muttered dull things like ‘I can’t believe my life has come to this’, but no one really listened because as we have already discussed she really is quite boring.

Once the slaves came home with the bread everyone picked a piece, and my amazing slave picked a piece for me (due to the ‘no guinea pigs at the dining table’ rule), and my bread had the king in it!
The little slave was very happy and excited for me, and said the new rules are that I can be queen for a decade, because a day just isn’t long enough!
I don’t really know what this means, but I got lots of treats and fuss, and almost managed to nip the big slave when she was topping up my hay.

It has been a very good day, and now I am queen forever.
Love Ruby xx

PS - Below is a photo of 2 pieces of bread with the white plastic king one top of one of them (it is hidden inside when you buy the bread) and the crown.
Ruby declined to have a photo taken next to the crown, and as she is now queen for a decade it was not open to discussion. :roll:

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Tara95 said:
I love this idea what a lovely tradition. I would probably choke on the King but it would teach me a lesson. Hope you've had a lovely day Queen Ruby 👸 💗
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Boring big slave here.
The choking hazard of this tradition has had me on the edge of my seat for years - it would never be allowed in most European countries, but my kids grew up with it and love it.
I love the bread. It's the closest we get to hot cross buns, so every year I brave the risk.
And because of my greed now Ruby is queen for a decade :roll:
 
Swissgreys said:
Boring big slave here.
The choking hazard of this tradition has had me on the edge of my seat for years - it would never be allowed in most European countries, but my kids grew up with it and love it.
I love the bread. It's the closest we get to hot cross buns, so every year I brave the risk.
And because of my greed now Ruby is queen for a decade :roll:
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Maybe it's intended to teach kids to eat politely - small bites and slowly so as not to eat the king 🤔
It sounds a lovely tradition. We seem to have lost all those little traditions over here, all swallowed up in the mass marketing opportunity that is Christmas these days .

How was it your greed that made Ruby queen for a decade, @Swissgreys ? You said it was her little slave that insisted on extra bread for the piggies, not you ( your daughter is very persuasive- she will surely grow up to be either a salesperson - like Alan Sugar maybe! - or a politician 😄)
 
That is a lovely tradition.
I always remember Epiphany. Growing up our 3 kings in the nativity set slowly got closer to baby Jesus and the stable as the 6th January drew closer.
I still do this with my nativity set now. (Unfortunately my set is tiny with no kings, and 3 Norwegian trolls usually take on the roll!)
 
That photo took me right back to my primary-school childhood in the seventies in Geneva! Nothing, but nothing, looks any different! I still have one of the white plastic kings. I would have thought that the design would have become a little more sophisticated in the decades since! Lots of exclamation marks but I would so love to be there still. I'm very envious! Lucky Ruby.
 
KHBz said:
That photo took me right back to my primary-school childhood in the seventies in Geneva! Nothing, but nothing, looks any different! I still have one of the white plastic kings. I would have thought that the design would have become a little more sophisticated in the decades since! Lots of exclamation marks but I would so love to be there still. I'm very envious! Lucky Ruby.
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I don't think anything has changed - certainly not since I have lived here, although these days you have the choice of bread with or without sultanas, and in the past few years some places offer a bread with chocolate pieces in it! The funny thing is that it isn't proven popular because it isn't 'traditional' enough, but chocolate breads (schoggiweggli) are sold everywhere and are super popular every other day of the year!
I had no idea you had lived in Geneva - how long were you there for?
 
Swissgreys said:
I don't think anything has changed - certainly not since I have lived here, although these days you have the choice of bread with or without sultanas, and in the past few years some places offer a bread with chocolate pieces in it! The funny thing is that it isn't proven popular because it isn't 'traditional' enough, but chocolate breads (schoggiweggli) are sold everywhere and are super popular every other day of the year!
I had no idea you had lived in Geneva - how long were you there for?
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I was born there, going back to England when I was two, and then we returned to Geneva when I was seven for another four years. I had to leave the French-speaking school for the last year of primary (to go to an international, English-speaking one), which I was so, so sad about, but it was thought best that I learn the 'right' type of maths before returning to England for secondary school. (It was quite bizarre what we were doing in the equivalent to the English year 5.) It was such a privileged childhood in Geneva, with everything being so much cheaper then anyway. My German husband and I have discussed moving there but it's a just a dream really. I do wish my daughters could have what I had and what your daughters have, but they are at least very happy at a multi-lingual school in England.
 
Swissgreys said:
Boring big slave here.
The choking hazard of this tradition has had me on the edge of my seat for years - it would never be allowed in most European countries, but my kids grew up with it and love it.
I love the bread. It's the closest we get to hot cross buns, so every year I brave the risk.
And because of my greed now Ruby is queen for a decade :roll:
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Well done, Ruby! No doubt you will continue your rule as you have started it!

I miss the Three Kings Cake (or rather sweet bread)...

It is basically plain enriched sweet dough with or without some raisins (you can often buy either in Swiss shops and bakeries) but without as much fruit and spice as in a hot cross bun; you eat it with just butter or butter and jam; or plain - however you like it best! Epiphany and the sweet bread signals the end of Christmas.

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PS: You know that there is something in there somewhere so you eat more carefully and chew everything well before swallowing.
In our family, the one who got the second little bun on the left of the one chosen quite often got the king (my younger sister holding the record), so we had to take turns each year as to who had the first choice, second choice etc.
 
Tigermoth said:
I’d never heard of anything like this until this post and then today I see Nadia from Bake Off in New Orleans where they have King Bread, a brightly coloured cake with the same idea and tiny king inside!
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You see this in Switzerland and Southwest Germany but also Alsace; the figure varies - in Cathiolic areas it will be the Christ child while in protestant areas you'd rather get a king figure.
 
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