In Cajun households like mine, making and decorating a king cake on Mardi Gras is a family custom. But what are the deeper origins of the holiday?

Mardi Gras has its roots in the Catholic celebrations of Epiphany and Lent. Epiphany marks the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, commemorating the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th, and king cakes have their roots in this celebration, hence their name.

Lent is a season of fasting that starts on Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 days, ending with the Easter season. The 40-day period is meant to echo Christ’s fast of 40 days in the wilderness.

Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French, and has come to symbolize a day of indulgence before the upcoming fast. The day is also called “Shrove Tuesday.”

In New Orleans, where Mardi Gras is principally celebrated in the United States, the holiday involves parades, balls, costumes and feasting.

To make king cake, a lightly sweetened dough is made, which in our house is usually then baked in a bundt pan to achieve its signature ring shape. Then we make a simple glaze, which serves as a glue for the colorful sugar that is sprinkled on top. Some years, we’ve flavored the glaze with orange.

Then comes the fun part: decorating! We set out three small bowls of sugar, about a cup each, and yellow, green and purple food coloring — one color per bowl. It usually only takes about a drop of food coloring to tint the sugar. The tinted sugar is sprinkled in a pattern of thick stripes around the cake, until all of it is used up.

As kids, we often didn’t adhere to this rule, producing a king cake with chaotic swirls of color, or muddy zigzags that didn’t look very regal. As we’ve gotten older, the cakes have become more traditional in appearance, but what matters is the effort.

Making king cake is more than just a tradition or a holiday celebration for me — it’s a way to remember my family’s heritage, and to spend time with the people that matter most.