How to Host a Twelfth Night Party!

Host Bee on Sunday, December 23rd, 2007

Host a Twelfth Night Party!

If the thought of entertaining guests during the month of December sends you into a panic, BUT you just can’t shake the desire to have some company, I have the perfect idea for you! Host a Twelfth Night Party!

The History of the Twelfth Night Party

The celebration of 12^th Night dates back centuries to a time when Christmas day was a quiet day of religious observance and the following 12 days were time of great celebration, culminating in Twelfth Night revelry! Traditionally, Twelfth Night occurs on the evening of January 5^th and the 6^th marks the feast of the Epiphany and the arrival of the Three Kings to Bethlehem. The raucous parties of the 18^th century involved fancy costumes and enough food and drink to see the guests through the cold winter months! Modern day traditions of the Mummer’s Parade in Philadelphia on New Year’s Day and Carnival/Mardi Gras in New Orleans both have their roots in Twelfth Night!

Celebrating the Twelfth Night Party - A King’s Cake a Must!

And so on to 2008! A Twelfth Night party can be done as a cocktail party or a dessert party with only one “mandatory” menu item: a King’s Cake! Named for the Three Wise Men, a King Cake is braided Danish pastry with a small plastic baby baked inside! The guest who finds the trinket becomes the “king” or “queen” of the party! King’s Cakes can be purchased online from haydelbakery.com, (a source recommended by a New Orleans native, cake pictured above) or you can bake your own!

For drink and hors d’vourves recipes, take a look at Busy Bee’s recommendations, Hor d’vourves and Cocktails.

Consider hosting a Twelfth Night party this January – your guests will love having an event to look forward to when the hustle and bustle of December is over and you’ll love the extra time to prepare!