The Three Wise Men Switzerland becomes a country of monarchs on January 6
On January 6, it's that time again: in the short term, democratic Switzerland will have countless monarchs. Although the king cake in its current form is only around 70 years old, its roots go back over 4000 years.
06.01.2024, 11:22
06.01.2025, 11:11
SDA
Be king for a day? It's possible on January 6. For many Swiss people, Epiphany begins with the struggle for the golden crown. A look behind the origins of this popular family tradition.
Where does Epiphany come from?
Epiphany, also known as Epiphany or the Epiphany of the Lord, is a Christian holiday traditionally celebrated on January 6. According to tradition, this is the day on which Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, the three wise men from the East, were led to Jesus by the star of Bethlehem and presented him with frankincense, gold and myrrh.
The fact that today, like the ancient Romans, we are once again identifying one-day kings by means of a cake is thanks to the longing of a young boy from Bern. It was sparked by the reproduction of a Danish baroque painting that hung above his parents' sofa. The painting by Jan Steen (1625-1679) depicted a "bean king", a boy who was allowed to sit on a throne for a day.
It is understandable that little Max Währen - later a well-known bread researcher - was taken with the idea of being king. As a young man, the former insurance clerk and amateur bread researcher researched the subject.
Währen found out that even the ancient Romans chose a one-day king by lot during the Saturnalia at the end of December. The custom probably even goes back to the Sumerians (3rd millennium BC), Währen, who died in 2008, once told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
How long has Epiphany been celebrated in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, Währen was able to document the custom in Lausanne in 1390, when the city donated two barrels of wine to its one-day city king. In guilds, a random king was even chosen as early as 1311 with a bean baked into a cake.
Währen thought this was a nice tradition and introduced it to his family. An attempt to publicize the king cake in an article in the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" initially failed. It was only with the support of his friend Bruno Heilinger, then Central Secretary of the Swiss Association of Master Bakers and Confectioners, that he succeeded.
Where does the Epiphany cake come from?
Währen had a recipe created by the Lucerne bakery school. As the pastry had to be affordable for everyone, yeast dough was the basis. And he "picked up" the spherical, flowery shape from the Dutch, who had an old king cake tradition, confessed Währen.
From the very beginning, charity was part of the King Cake tradition. At the press conference at which the revived custom was presented in 1952, Währen had a cake cut for the journalists. The "King" was allowed to choose which institution the cake proceeds would be donated to. The correspondent of the "Berner Tagblatt" chose the Bernese Association for the Blind, the bread researcher recalls.
The legend of the three kings
The three kings to whom we dedicate today's feast and cake, which originated in the Roman Saturnalia, never existed. The Bible speaks of an unspecified number of "magoi", which means either "magicians" or - more likely - "lean", members of a Babylonian astrological caste.
The fact that the visitors to the infant Jesus were three kings named Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar was established by church fathers between the 3rd and 6th centuries, partly because the number three is sacred and crowned heads are better than members of an astrological sect.
Bake your own Epiphany cake: it's so easy
You can bake the sweet yeast pastry yourself in just a few steps. The plastic king is available from the baker, and if you don't have one to hand, you can also use the original dried bean.
