Easter is definitely on the way. The Valentine’s Day themed confectionary has given way to Easter Eggs, Easter Bunnies and Easter Bilbies on the shelves of the supermarkets. Alongside the chocolates are the Easter Cards, and as you walk through the bakery section of your preferred supermarket there are increasing amounts of hot cross buns.
Growing up, hot cross buns came in two varieties, the ones bought at the shop and the ones made in someone’s home. They were spiced buns, they contained dried fruit and they were marked with a cross. Over time, fruitless hot cross buns appeared, then gluten free ones. More recently we have seen the rise of chocolate hot cross buns, white chocolate hot cross buns with raspberries and many other varieties that were broadly in keeping with the original hot cross bun.
This year a whole host of new flavours have appeared. You can buy, alongside the more traditional varieties, Arnotts Pizza Shapes flavoured hot cross buns, Iced VoVo ones, Vegemite and Cheese hot cross buns and even fairy bread flavoured versions. The variations (or if you, like me, have a decided preference for traditional hot cross buns, aberrations) seem endless. We have come a long way from the purported original hot cross bun developed in England in the 14th century.
The first Easter bun is thought to have been made by Brother Thomas Rocliffe. Brother Thomas was a 14th century monk at St Albans Abbey and developed the original recipe for an Easter bun to be distributed to the local poor on Good Friday, starting in 1361.
By the late 16th and early 17th centuries, hot cross buns found themselves the subject of legislation banning their sale except at burials, on Good Friday and during Christmas. By the 18th century the recipe for hot cross buns had become more or less standardised and closely resembles the traditional hot cross bun we have today.
It is thought that three elements of the hot cross bun have a distinct Christian symbolism. Most obviously the cross that adorns the top of the bun represents the Cross of Christ. It is the incorporation of the cross that ties the bun to Easter. Originally made of short crust pastry but is now more likely to be made of a flour and water paste.
The spice blend, integral to the traditional recipe, is said to represent the spices that were wrapped in the burial cloths alongside Jesus’ body. Finally, orange peel that is traditional to the earliest recipes is a reminder of the bitterness of Good Friday. Jesus, who is guilty of no crime, tastes the bitterness of an unjust death. Dying to give his life for the sins of the world.
There is too much of a traditionalist in me to ever think that hot cross buns should ever have any other flavour than the fruity, spicy taste and heavy consistency of the original. Although, many find it strange that I prefer to eat my hot cross buns with cheese (don’t knock it until you have tried it). But whether you prefer the original, a choc chip version or even one that is flavoured to resemble fairy bread or designed to look like an Iced Vo-Vo, as you eat your hot cross buns this year, take a moment to think on the death of Jesus, the bitterness of his agony and give thanks for the sweet salvation that it wrought.
Happy Easter.
Andrew Heron
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Church of the Good Shepherd Easter Services
Sunday 24 March, 10am – Palm Sunday Children’s Service followed by BYO Picnic Lunch.
Friday 29 March, 9am – Traditional Good Friday Service.
Sunday 31 March, 8:30am and 10am – Easter Communion Services.
