In the distant past Good Friday was a day when very little work was done and definitely no washing as it was thought that linen hung out on Good Friday would become tainted with Christ's blood. At one time it was also a day which required people to eat nothing except bread, now it's the proper day for Hot Cross Buns, which are the descendants of small cakes/ buns made in celebration of the arrival of spring and for the Anglo Saxon goddess Eostre. The Greeks and the Romans had festive spring cakes too.
Even the cross was there before Christianity - it was originally a symbol of the year divided into four seasons. At one time all bread was marked with a cross to help it rise, but this was frowned upon by the church after the reformation so that a cross was allowed only on special Holy days.
The earliest reference to Hot Cross Buns was in Poor Robin's Almanack in 1733 and they were once thought to have holy powers and one would be hung in the house from one year to the next to protect the household from harm. If the bun went mouldy then disaster would strike the house!
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| Hot Cross Bun Seller from the Illustrated London News 1851 |
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
I have made my own Hot Cross Buns in the past but now they're just bought from Aldi and are traditional flavour although there are lots of different sorts available - (like mince pies at Christmas)- I'm not sure about Jaffa Orange or Raspberry and Vanilla and 'Caramel' sounds much too sweet.
The Aldi pack proudly states that they are 'Baked In Britain' - I should certainly hope so - I hope that things never get so bad that we had to import Hot-Cross-Buns! Or perhaps the Aldi message means we already are importing them unbaked and Aldi just shove them in an oven!
(Info taken from my books - The English Year by Steve Roud and Cattern Cakes and Lace by Julia Jones)
Back Tomorrow
Sue
I remember one Good Friday as a child waiting for half past three to happen, which was, I thought, the time of the crucifixion. Then a terrible storm rolled in and that really scared me...
ReplyDeleteWhy 3.30 I wonder?
DeleteIn our family we also have hot cross buns at Christmas, as a reminder that the baby in Bethlehem was born to be our Saviour on the cross.
ReplyDeleteThey are in the shops all year now
DeleteWhen we were children, our Father used to walk up the road early to the baker's to get the fresh-baked hot cross buns. They were a huge treat for us. No other shops would open on Good Friday.
ReplyDeleteI expect nowadays most shops are open all Easter. Easter Saturday used to be our busiest Library Day back in the 70's
DeleteEaster Sunday all big shops must close.
DeleteWe never eat hot cross buns until Good Friday, though I think they're available throughout the year now. Angela's comment is interesting, though.
ReplyDeleteI find that once I've eaten one a day for 6 days to get through the packet that's enough!
DeleteI just like traditional hot cross buns and we will have one later with afternoon coffee. Happy Easter to you and hope the weather is an improvement as we go into April. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the flavours - why is it necessary?
DeleteMy mother, the Yorkshirewoman, always made the sign of the cross on her bread, saying the words aloud. It was a prayer of thanks for having bread.
ReplyDeleteMy Mum - no religion - always made 3 cuts on sausage rolls for the holy trinity. Very odd
DeleteOne side of my family is Catholic and they used to eat only fish on Friday. In later years, they fell away from the church and the Friday fish disappeared too. I like hot cross buns too. They seem to come flaky and dry or moist and more cake-like. I've probably never had an authentic hot cross bun. Happy Easter. I'm cooking a feast for Sunday. Wish me luck.
ReplyDeleteAt our primary school there were just two children who were Catholic and at a time when everyone had school dinners they always went home on Fridays
DeleteI have not seen any hot cross buns this year and I wonder why. I always had them at Easter time. Gigi
ReplyDeleteLots in the shops around here
DeleteNow I'm curious about our hot cross buns! You could be right about baking at Aldi!
ReplyDeleteTraditional Hot Cross Buns are perfect without all the fancy additions they come up with these days. Fish was always served on Friday for infant school dinners, back in the 1950's...mind you, the school was in Grimsby, which was then the largest and busiest fishing port in the country!
ReplyDeleteSadly hot cross buns aren't really a thing here. I miss them. They are delivious. I was singing that rhyme in my head as I read it lol. Hope you have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the plain ordinary hot cross buns, but there were none without milk products in them in any of our shops, so I ended up with flavoured ones, happily they were yellow-stickered. :-)
ReplyDeleteOur hot cross buns have been mixed, risen, and eaten all in our very own cottage!
ReplyDelete