Good Friday: Tales about the origin of hot cross buns
This yeasted, slightly spiced bun, sprinkled with raisins or currants boasts an interesting background, and are actually enjoyed in many different ways.
WHILE much-loved hot cross buns can be found on store shelves throughout the year, they were originally reserved for Good Friday alone.
This yeasted, slightly spiced bun, sprinkled with raisins or currants boasts an interesting background, and are actually enjoyed in many different ways.
There isn’t one clear explanation for why hot cross buns make their way to our table around Easter. While some theories rest in Christian symbolism, there are several tales about the origin.
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A few of the better-known stories told about hot cross buns:
1. A 12th-century monk introduced the cross to the bun
A hot cross bun’s roots may run far back into the 12th century. Some tales speak of an Anglican monk who would bake the buns and mark them with a cross in honour of Good Friday. With time their popularity grew to become a symbol of Easter.
2. These buns may have caused a stir during Elizabethan England
Nearing the end of the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I passed a law limiting the sale of sweet buns to funerals, at Christmas and the Friday before Easter. This came about after the English became deeply superstitious, believing the buns carried medicinal or magical properties and that the over sale of it may be abusing the powers of the bun. Some tales even shared that buns baked on Good Friday would never go stale. As a way to get around the law, more and more people began baking these buns at home. Not only did they grow in popularity, but the law became too difficult to enforce and was eventually rescinded.
3. Superstitions about hot cross buns baked on Good Friday
Other superstition-fueled beliefs indicate that hot cross buns baked on Good Friday held a power of their own. One tale states that these buns, when hung from the rafters of a home, would ward off evil spirits in the coming year. Good Friday baked buns also held the power to protect sailors from shipwreck while off at sea. Yet another version mentions that sharing the bun with a loved one guarantees friendship in the coming year.
Source: www.kitchn.com
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