Rascon de Reyes

This is me standing in front of the Museo del Jamon (Museum of the Ham) in Madrid. Seeing this picture reminded me of another Spanish custom. There is a dessert, Rascon de Reyes, which is traditionally eaten as part of the “Los Tres Reyes Magos” celebrations. The dessert is a ring of sweet bread that has two prizes baked into it. It is traditional to cut up the ring so a piece can be distributed to each person around the table. Receiving one of the prizes is suppose to impart good luck for the coming year. Receiving the other prize means that you are obligated to buy the Rascon de Reyes for the next year. While strolling through the streets of Madrid we passed a pasteleria (pastry shop), and we decided to partake in the tradition. Being that there were only four of us, we purchased a small Rascon de Reyes. We were warned that the mini size only had the good luck prize and that this one prize would also carry the obligation for next years purchase. Willing to accept the terms, we left with our mini Rascon de Reyes. As it turns out, I was the lucky recipient. As I munched into my slice of Rascon de Reyes, I bit into a little plastic pig. It seems that nothing could represent more good luck to a Spaniard than finding an extra pig when you weren’t expecting one.