Rosca de Reyes

Round or Oval Mexican Sweet Bread

The Rosca de Reyes is an oval-shaped Mexican sweet bread generally eaten on Epiphany or Kings Day to celebrate the arrival of the three kings to honor the birth of Jesus. This round or oval shaped  Mexican bread is decorated with slices of crystallized or candied fruit of different colors. The King’s cake is also called: biscuit, cake or sweet bread.

Roscac de Reyes oval bread 5179. Photo credit Joseph A. Tyson

This tradition of eating together and sharing a rosca de reyes bread with a hot chocolate to remember the Holy Kings, is made as a snack or pre-dinner at an early hour in the late evening, so that children are present and can participate in the tradition of getting together to enjoy and share a slice of rosca de reyes and it is important when you cut a slice, that on both sides of the rosca, does not appear the figure of the infant Jesus (plastic doll symbolizing Jesus newborn).
Read more here: blog.mexgrocer.com/rosca-de-reyes-mexican-tradition/

Rosca de Reyes. Photo credit Tamorlan, Wikipedia commons

Rosca de Reyes Oval Bread. Photo credit Joseph A. Tyson

In Mexico , the representation of the Nativity is incorporated into the ‘kings’ thread, and one or more dolls allusive to Jesus Christ are imbedded in the bread, which symbolizes that the child had to be hidden and protected in the days of the story. Originally, the doll was made of porcelain or ceramic , and is currently made of heat-resistant plastic. Usually, the amount of dolls in the sweet bread varies depending on the size of the thread, although a certain amount can be requested and even have none. The person who, upon splitting his piece of thread, finds the doll agrees to give a party and prepare tamales for all those present during Candlemas Day (February 2 ), a celebration in which tamales and atole are customarily offered.
The above paragraph is courtesy of Wikipedia. es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosc%C3%B3n_de_Reyes

Read more about other Mexican Holidays and Traditions.