When the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve, one can find Isidro Figueroa celebrating with half of his family. He has had massive gatherings with his family every other year for his entire life. While holiday food trends come and go, he still looks forward to the nostalgic foods he had in his childhood.
One of Figueroa’s favorite sweets is Rosca de Reyes, a pastry more often bought than made. Displaying bright red, brown, and yellow streaks in the dough, Rosca de Reyes is a bread given out in celebration of Three Kings Day. A holiday honoring the story of the Three King’s travelling to Jerusalem to give Jesus his gifts. After baking a Rosca de Reyes, a plastic token of the Three Kings or baby Jesus will be placed in. In Figueroa’s family the lucky person who finds the token has a year of good luck.
“Imagine a giant donut, and parents will buy it for that day, and there’s one of the three kings hidden in it… so if you find that, you’re supposed to have good luck,” Figueroa explained.
For this holiday season, Figueroa will be fiending for Rosca de Reyes.