Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a' penny, two a' penny, hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, give them to your sons. One a' penny, two a' penny, hot cross buns!
Q.
Each Easter, my family celebrates with a traditional Guatemalan Easter feast. It consists of fried salt fish, rice and delicious salad of pickled beetroot, cauliflower and fresh peas; it's a simple meal, but I look forward to it every year. Each year, my family looks to me to bake dessert, so this past Easter, I decided to attempt the traditional hot cross buns. As my home filled with the sweet, yeasty fragrance of the bread rising, I began thinking, why are these little buns seen mainly around Easter? So, today's question is:
What is the symbolism of hot cross buns?
Yep. I made these!
A.
Of course the Christians took this one over! According to the Church of England, the hot cross bun has a number of meanings that are tied to Easter, which include the bread symbolizing the communion host, the spices are meant to mirror the spices that Jesus was wrapped in when laid in the tomb, and the cross to show the crucifixion... but how do they explain the fruit?
Upon further exploration, crossed buns can be traced back to pagan times, where the spring festival commemorating the goddess Eostre, included ceremonial cakes marked with a cross. The Egyptians also offered small round cakes marked with a representation of a pair of ox horns to their moon goddess. Additionally, the ancient Greeks produced little buns called "boun"offered to the gods, where the cross is speculated to represent the four quarters of the moon.
Hot cross buns as an Easter tradition began in Elizabethan times. At that time, hot cross buns were made from same dough as communion wafers, the Protestant monarchs viewed this as a Catholic hold on Britons and enforced a law that limited the sale and consumption of them to Christmas, Easter and funerals. In the time of James I, this law seemed nearly impossible to enforce and bakers were allowed to produce spiced bread throughout the year.
In modern times, hot cross buns come in all varieties such as apple and cinnamon, orange and cranberry, and toffee... but give me the traditional ones any day!
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