Hot cross buns are loved by all the family at this time of year, in the run up to Easter. Waking up and having them toasted for breakfast is something of an Easter tradition for lots of people, but how did the hot cross bun become a traditional food for Good Friday?
Pagan Buns
Let’s go a long way back in time, to when paganism was a religion with many followers. Pagans worshipped Eostre, the goddess of dawn and spring. As spring arrived, the pagans would celebrate a month long festival of the transitioning time from winter entering into spring. This festival saw the Saxons making buns marked with a cross, which represented the four phases of the moon, to offer to the goddess. Eostre is where we get the modern day name of Easter.
When Christianity became Britain’s main religion, pagan ways were banished – including those of Eostre. Leaders of the Christian faith soon realised they could incorporate the celebrations of Eostre into their own religion, which also featured a celebration of their own at a similar time of year. Although the actual reasoning behind the Eostre celebrations wouldn’t be carried over to the Christian ways, the buns the pagans used were. The cross would now symbolise the cross Jesus was crucified upon, and not the four phases of the moon.
Superstitions
Hot cross buns hold something of superstitions too. It was believed if you were to bake a hot cross bun or bread on Good Friday then it wouldn’t become mouldy, and if you were to hang it in your house then this would ward off any bad luck the future year may bring, and also help protect the house from fire. Sailors would take hot cross buns upon their ships to help prevent the vessel from shipwreck.
Surprisingly, hot cross buns were also seen to hold medicinal purposes. If you were to give a person who is ill a hot cross bun then they were thought to get better, or you could finely grate the bun and mix it with water to help a person get better.
During the Tudor time these spiced buns become really popular, and during Elizabeth I’s reign, she introduced a law that these buns were only to be made on special occasions such as burials, Christmas and Good Friday. Therefore, the only way for one to enjoy these baked goods was to make them at home, enabling people to eat them all year round. Even James the First tried to stop the buns and spiced bread from being made, but this was impossible to enforce, and so bakers were allowed to make them.
Traditionally nowadays, hot cross buns are seen on the supermarket shelves and in the bakeries for us to enjoy from around February until after Easter.
Next time you’re having a hot cross bun for breakfast, whether it is a traditional recipe bun or one with orange and cranberry in it, or even spiked with chocolatey flavour, just remember how far it has come and what transitions it has gone through. From being an offering to the Eostre goddess, to being lucky and even medicinal.
So here’s to the good old hot cross bun, a bun that has been through a lot, yet Easter just wouldn’t be the same without it.
FAQs
The Greeks in the 6th century AD may have marked cakes with a cross. In the Christian tradition, the making of buns with a cross on them and consuming them after breaking the fast on Good Friday, along with "crying about 'Hot cross buns'", is done in order to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus.
What is the story behind the hot cross bun? ›
They are symbolic of this significant day in the Christian faith when Jesus was crucified. Each bun is decorated with a cross made from flour paste, which represents the cross on which Christ died. The spices in hot cross buns are said to represent the spices that were used to embalm Christ after his death.
Why are hot cross buns traditionally eaten at Easter? ›
Hot cross buns became commemorations of Good Friday, and across Christendom the cross came to represent the crucifixion and the spices symbolised those used to embalm Jesus at his burial. The bun had been blessed.
What is the pagan origin of hot cross buns? ›
The pagan Saxons would bake cross buns at the beginning of spring in honour of the goddess Eostre – most likely being the origin of the name Easter. The cross represented the rebirth of the world after winter and the four quarters of the moon, as well as the four seasons and the wheel of life.
Are hot cross buns related to Jesus? ›
To those practicing their faith today, a bite from a hot cross bun on Good Friday can still be an act laden with religious significance. The bread is a nod to the Communion wafer, the spices represent the spices Christ was wrapped in in his tomb and the cross is of course a reference to his crucifixion.
Why were hot cross buns banned? ›
Spiced buns were banned when the English broke ties with the Catholic Church in the 16th century. However, by 1592, Queen Elizabeth I relented and granted permission for commercial bakers to produce the buns for funerals, Christmas, and Easter. Otherwise, they could be baked in homes.
Do the French eat hot cross buns? ›
The French don't do hot cross buns.
Toasted spiced buns studded with juicy raisins and oozing with butter, hot cross buns are an Easter treat that can be enjoyed in the weeks running up til Easter. But not in France.
Why do Catholics eat hot cross buns? ›
In the Christian tradition, the making of buns with a cross on them and consuming them after breaking the fast on Good Friday, along with "crying about 'Hot cross buns'", is done in order to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus.
Are hot cross buns healthy? ›
While an average bun contains around 230 calories, there are healthier types. Good-quality, sourdough hot cross buns, purchased from health food shops and local grocery stores, contain healthier ingredients such as sultanas, currants and apricots and aren't filled with processed additives and preservatives.
Why are there raisins in hot cross buns? ›
The raisins embedded in the bun represent the body of Christ in the tomb. The cinnamon represents the spices that anointed Jesus' entombed body. The sweet bread and the sugar of the cross as well as the risen yeast dough represent the resurrection. The hot cross bun is an ideal Christian form of evangelism.
“Will he let hot cross buns past the mezuzah?” I ask. “He loves them. They're absolutely allowed in the house, unless it's Pesach of course.
What does the egg symbolize in Easter? ›
Eggs represent new life and rebirth, and it's thought that this ancient custom became a part of Easter celebrations. In the medieval period, eating eggs was forbidden during Lent (the 40 days before Easter) so on Easter Sunday, tucking into an egg was a real treat!
Why is Good Friday called Good Friday? ›
The term Good Friday comes from the sense 'pious, holy' of the word good. Less common examples of expressions based on this obsolete sense of good include 'the good book" for the Bible, 'good tide' for Christmas or Shrovetide, and Good Wednesday for the Wednesday in Holy Week.
Why have Iceland put a tick on hot cross buns? ›
Iceland insisted the traditional hot cross buns would still be available in its stores alongside its hot tick buns. David Lennox, the head of development for Iceland Foods, told The Sun: “According to the research, it seems some people want to do away with the cross design and move to a tick instead.
What is the hot cross bun thought? ›
A CBT “hot cross bun” is used to separate out our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and physical symptoms towards a stimuli/ event e.g. a loss, whilst considering how they may be related.
Why were hot cross buns served only at special occasions? ›
The Forbidden Buns
At the time, it is believed Hot Cross Buns were given as alms by the church to help the poor. But, Queen Elizabeth I decided they could only be eaten on Good Friday and perhaps at Christmas and burials. During this period, Hot Cross Buns were considered sacred.
