Jackson Free Press

For some people, February means king-cake season. In the South, a king cake is like a cake-sized cinnamon roll, usually with purple, green and gold icing. Traditionally, a king cake has a small trinket inside (usually a baby), but due to choking hazards, some bakeries put the trinket on the side.

The person who finds the trinket in or under his or her slice receives various privileges and obligations. The recipient is declared the king or queen of the day, and is also required to supply the king cake for the next celebration.

These delicious seasonal cakes usually are enjoyed around Mardi Gras, which is the celebration leading up to Lent, and are eaten in places that celebrate the holiday, such as New Orleans and other areas around the Gulf Coast. Other countries serve slightly different king cakes.

The name "king cake" is taken from the biblical Three Kings who visited baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The circular shape of the cakes is meant to represent the crown fit for a king like Jesus, or the three wise “kings”. The Eve of Epiphany, Jan. 5, is popularly known as Twelfth Night, referring to the Twelve Days of Christmas counted from Christmas Eve to January 5th. King-cake season lasts from the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas through Mardi Gras, which is French for "Fat Tuesday." The celebration is called Fat Tuesday because it represents the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday the next day.

The purple, green and gold colors of king cake symbolize justice, faith and power, respectively. These are the official colors of Mardi Gras, and are also seen on everything from floats and masks to beads on Fat Tuesday and the days leading up to it.

Here are a few places that will be selling king cakes this Mardi Gras season:

Campbell's Bakery, $18.95-23.95 (3013 N. State St., 601-362-4628); Broad Street Baking Company and Café, $26.95 (4465 Interstate 55 N., Suite 101, 601-362-2900); Primos Café and Bake Shop, $16.00 (2323 Lakeland Drive, Flowood, 601-936-3701); Great Harvest Bread Company, $12.95 (5006 Parkway Drive, 601-956-4406; 500 Highway 51, Ridgeland, 601-856-3313)