It was a gloomy, misty morning. A perfect setting for a Good Friday, if you were to ask me. And I was hot on the trail for the best Hot Cross Buns I could find. Out of the house and into the car with The Judge (my faithful pup), we headed out to find the most delectible assortment available.
After a morning of trekking, purchasing, and sampling, I came to the conclusion that Panera Bread’s assorments won hands down. I will be there again this year, you can be sure! In case you didn’t know, you can only find these tasty treats at Easter. And I readily await their arrival.
I was surprised to learn they are quite a long standing tradition. As a matter of fact, a first sighting was about 40 years after Christ’s death. The discovery was in Italy!
When archaeolgists excavated the ancient city of Herculaneum in Southwest Italy (which had been buried under volcanic ask and lava since 79 A.D.), they found two small loaves, each with a cross on it, among the ruins.
Hop across the pond, as they say, and these day, over in England, Hot Cross Buns are served at breakfast on Good Friday morning. They are small, spiced buns whose brown sugary surface is marked with a white icing cross. Old English tradition believed that hanging a Hot Cross Bun in the house on Good Friday prevented bad luck in the coming year. According to superstition, crossed buns and loaves baked on Good Friday also never went moldy.
For a long time bakers, by law, were only allowed to bake and sell the buns at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. There was actually a decree issued in 1592 (during Queen Elizabeth I) showing that exact ruling!
It’s hard for those of us in today’s Western cultures to believe, or imagine, that religion and faith used to be so much a part of people’s everyday lives. Especially that it resulted in a legal mandate. But it’s true. Rules were actually created that protected the stature and remembrance of that simple little bun & its meaning. To the extent of baked good sales, no less! Talk about government intervention.
With that, you might want to build the locating, and eating, of Hot Cross Buns into your upcoming Easter shedule and festivities. If anything, to revive the tradition in your home, to spread the good news or to simply start that unique conversation.
Just my thoughts.
S.
Extra thot for today: That Christ be remembered, no matter how creative the method or means, is always a good thing.
