charms

The boulangerie in the village have changed the window displays from christmas scenes of snow and santas to curious collections of tiny figurines, the likes of Sponge Bob, Mickey Mouse, Patrick the Starfish and this little chicken ,Calimero.

Naively, I thought this may be a display of Kinder Egg toy collections...though the setting choice did seem a tad obscure.. but no it is so much more interesting!
These little porcelain charms, well one of them, are put into a Galette des Rois. This is the 'cake of kings' and commemorates, Epiphany, the 12th night after Christmas when the three kings arrived in Bethlehem with gold, frankincense and myrrh.
A child in the family hides under the table and calls out the name of the person to be served next with a slice of cake. Whoever gets the slice with the charm is then crowned, literally, king or queen for the day.