Lent 2026
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While many are wrapping up Christmas celebrations on December 25, Catholics continue to celebrate and rejoice until the feast of the Epiphany on January 6 — or even until the Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas) on February 2.
Then it’s back to the humdrum of ordinary life. Much of the world is just focused on getting through the dark winter days. The Church is back to “ordinary time,” everything covered in green.
But in Louisiana, the feast of Epiphany isn’t the end of the party. Instead, it’s the start of a whole new season — one with deep roots in the Catholic tradition.
Here’s how Louisiana priest Fr. Clinton Sensat described it in a viral post on his Facebook page.
He said:
In Louisiana, we have many cultural traditions. Some are frustrating. Some are quirky. And some deserve to be spread around the world.
One of those that deserve to be spread is the entire holiday season that we have which I don't *think* exists anywhere else in the world: Mardi Gras or king cake season.
Stretching from Epiphany to the day before Ash Wednesday, it's a time of balls, parades, green-gold-purple decorations, and, above all, king cake.
That’s right — from January 6 to Mardi Gras, which falls on February 17 this year, Louisiana is celebrating “king cake season.” They’re getting to celebrate for another month and a half while the rest of us are back to the grind!
The traditional food of “king cake” is the defining hallmark of this season. In Spanish, it's known as "Rosca (or Roscón) de Reyes" -- meaning a circular-shaped pastry of kings. The Epiphany cake and the February 2 feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple are linked, with a Baby Jesus figurine hidden in the cake, a reminder to dress up a special figurine of Jesus for his presentation.
But, Fr. Sensat explained that in Louisiana, the celebration just keeps on going past February 2. He wrote:
King cake is a tradition that we brought over from France and Spain. There, it's a special treat for Epiphany, the day when kids get presents, and is named in honor of the three Magi. [...]
But in Louisiana, we eat king cake from Epiphany to Mardi Gras, and [a figurine representing] a baby is hidden in the cake, until one day a person finds the baby in a piece, the way the Magi finally found the baby Jesus.
I hear lots of people saying they "ate their way" through Disney or Paris or New York. Leave it to Cajuns to eat their way through the quest for Jesus.
Why have an extra season of celebration? This quirky tradition actually serves a purpose, helping people pass the time from Christmas to Lent with joy and fun. He wrote:
Even down here, January and February can be pretty bleak. It is psychologically useful and spiritually healthy to have a bridge of celebration that passes from the Christmas season to Lent. It's a time of frivolity, high society, cheap beads, moon pies (thanks Mobile), and a culinary chase after Jesus.
There are so many families who try to find ways to make their Catholic faith concrete throughout the year. Down here in Louisiana we've got a very special one, and I don’t think it's mere love of my homeland that makes me say it should be spread throughout the Catholic world.
Some of us who live in the northern parts of the U.S. are embarrassed to admit we've never tried king cake. Not once! Can you believe it? Clearly we’re missing out, and it sounds like it’s time for “king cake season” to spread around the world.
If you're in Louisiana, how do you celebrate "king cake season"? And if you're not, have you ever tried king cake this time of year? Share your answers in the comments!
