Tonight is Twelfth Night, also known as King’s Day, King’s Night, Three Kings’ Night and Epiphany. It is a Christian holiday, said to be the day that the three wise men arrived at the creche after following the Star of Bethlehem. If you reach back farther in history, you’ll find many cultures, including nature-based religions, marked this time with festivities because it was obvious that days were growing longer. It was a celebration of light, one of the things I love most about the holiday.

In New Orleans, it is the first day of Carnival and stores throughout the city have boxes

King's Cakes are sold all over New Orleans as January 6, Epiphany and also the first day of Carnival, approaches

of King’s Cakes stacked high near their entrances.

For a very long time, this has been the day my family exchanges holiday gifts and gathers for a winter feast. Tonight we’re having a crab and citrus salad, lamb shanks braised with leeks, creamy polenta, white beans, cavalo nero with bacon and garlic, butter lettuce salad and an as-yet-to-be-determined dessert, as this year I do not have time to make my traditional Buche de Noel.

Are you celebrating the holiday? If so, I’d love to know what your feast will feature. Please post it here!