New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

and in modern

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, a King's Ball is a celebration held on

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

(''La fête des rois''), or some later time before

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The tradition was brought to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

émigrés. The parties lasted throughout the night and into the next day, when a late morning breakfast was served. Music, dancing and fine food were always important elements of the event. But the centerpiece of the annual celebration was the selection of the royal personage. As in other European Epiphany celebrations, a ''

Galette des Rois A king cake, also known as a three kings cake or a baby cake, is a cake associated in many countries with Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany, the celebration of the Twelfth Night (holiday), Twelfth Night after Christmas. Its form and ingredients are va ...

'' was baked, with a bean hidden in it. The man who found the bean in his slice was crowned King of the festivities; he selected his Queen, and they reigned over the year's festivities. More recently, a small

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

child trinket has been substituted for the bean.

References

{{reflist, 2 * This article had a note reading: Article edited from the ''Ste. Genevieve Herald'' newspaper, but with no date or page.

External links

Article:
USA Today Travel, Jan 3rd, 2008
St. Louis's Annual King's Ball
webpage Balls in the United States French-Canadian culture in Missouri French-American culture in Missouri Culture of Missouri Catholic culture