King’s Day. Today we commemorate the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to baby Jesus in stables, by following The Star. No, this wasn’t the infamous star from Star War, but the Star of Bethlehem. Do you remember the gifts they brought? Gold, frankincense and of course, myrrh. Back home in Madeira, we’d be with our families and we’d be having bacalhau with boiled potatoes and let’s not forget the bolo-rei. This is a round fruit cake, with the whole in the middle. It’s been around for hundreds of years and represents the Wise Men’s gifts: the crust symbolises gold, the candied and dried fruit, the myrrh and the aroma of this cake, the frankincense.
We didn’t have the cod nor the cake, nor did we have the whole family with us. But we did take a moment of contemplation and a relaxing coffee 😊
