Val says you might think it is the wrong time of year to be discussing " la fève" but on the brocante at Varen this morning, our grandchildren bought 3 Harry Potter feves. They could not find a Harry Potter one although they bought 3 other characters so now we are searching the net for small porcelain Harry Potter fiqures. Exactly how collecting begins. Often you see people searching through little baskets at brocantes looking for their missing feve.
The Galette des Rois is a way for French people to celebrate the Epiphany, the arrival of the Three Wise men (Magi). Every year, on January 6th, people gather pour tirer les rois, to find the kings. The traditional galette is cut in a very specific number of slices: one slice for each person sitting at the table plus one. The extra slice is symbolic for the first poor person passing by.
The youngest person in the room goes under the table, and announces who gets the next slice. The youngest person is said to be the most innocent one and therefore fair in the distribution of the slices. Such an importance is given to the distribution because of the lucky charm, la fève, hidden in the galette.
Initially, the lucky charm was a bean but it has since evolved and was replaced at the end of the XIXth century by porcelain trinkets, and today porcelain or plastic trinkets. Today, the diversity of lucky charms is so important that people collect them. It is called “favophilie”. If you want to learn more about favophilie, here is a French website dedicated to this hobby: click here
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