They are Tres Reyes Rosca Babies…baked into the Three Kings cake. Whoever gets one has to provide the tamales for the Candelaria celebration on Feb. 2. Jan. 6 is supposedly when the 3 kings visited and is the 12th day of Christmas. Candelaria marks the last day. It is the day when everyone takes the baby Jesus from their house’s creche to the church to be blessed so you see people all over carrying babies. The first time I saw businessmen on the subway in Mexico city carrying what looked like baby dolls, I couldn’t figure it out. At any rate…these are the tiny figures baked into Rosca all over Mexico. Congratulations to Bruce Horn who was the first to guess it. If you didn’t see the first post on this, see it HERE. There were many clever guesses regarding what these little figures were. It was hard to distinguish their size as there was no way to tell they were just 1½ inches high. I loved the creativity of the answers. Thanks for playing along.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
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Thanks for the revelation
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Even though I am not traditionally religious anymore, I love the traditions.
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I recognized these as King Cake Mardi Gras babies from my 15 years in New Orleans. Someone at work would bring in a King Cake (from McKenzie’s, of course, until they folded.) The person who got the baby was to provide the King Cake the next day. A grand tradition in which I NEVER took part, but joyfully observed.
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The next day or the next year?
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The next day. The first King Cake would be presented at the office sometime after xmas. A new one would arrive each workday until Mardi Gras.
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That’s a lot of cake.
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The French put tiny china figurines in their Galette des Rois and, if you’re the lucky recipient, you get to wear the paper crown.
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Better than having to buy or make the tamales. And everyone left their babies so I have them to use in a retablo.
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Ok you got me on that one~! But you were devious too~! What If I showed you a photo I have that is just of a finger, and asked you what it was.. Wouldn’t you say: “Oh that is an old dried up finger”~! Then after ten times back and forth, you are finally told: “But That is the finger from the hand of “Saint Marina”. All because I am stubborn and don’t like to be wrong~! I forgot all about those King Cakes, (never liked all the color so didn’t bother with them), so never got the Baby Jesus, looking much like Frozen Charlotte~!
https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/07/the-relics-of-saint-marina-photos.html
Stubborn Sam
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Thanks for the answer as I had no idea at all. Yes the size was deceptive
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I think the heads look like Casper the Ghost. Are you too young to remember him?
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That did make me laugh Judy. Some days I think Methuselah and I have the same birthday 😂
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I can’t tell. You seem young to me. I imagine you in your thirties or forties.
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can double the first one and add eight
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Well, you have a young personality…
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Brain and outlook is still 27 but the body………….
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My eldest daughter will be 38 this year 😲
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Interesting. When we lived in Spain we loved Three Kings Day and always kept our Christmas decorations up until then. After all Christmas wasn’t over. The cakes there had a hidden trinket, not the babies as you show. The one who ate the piece of cake with the trinket was promised a year of good health and prosperity. I tried to continue the tradition when we returned to the states (as I kept all the trinkets) and I guess it was more fun with the fancy cakes only baked during the holiday. Such a nice memory. Thank you for bringing it back Judy.
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Amazing! We bake keys into the first Challah after Passover; they are supposed to be keys to prosperity. Same idea.
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