What is the folklore about Hot Cross Buns?

Question

Every year an old friend keep a Hot Cross Bun for a whole year, then throws it away and replaces it with a new one every Good Friday. Does anyone know the origin of this custom?

Answer 1

These were made as cakes from wheat which was used in Pagan Spring festivals. The buns were traditionally made on Good Friday in the Christian church with the dough kneaded for the Host and therefore marked with a cross to indicate this. These buns/cakes were also believed to have many special properties including the curing of certain illnesses They were also believed to last twelve months without turning mouldy which was of great use during Pagan times when the storage of food was imperative for survival. It was believed that they would protect against evil forces and fire if hung in the kitchen. Sailors believed that hot cross buns would protect against shipwreck if taken to sea. Farmers in certain parts of England (UK) also believed that they would protect the granary against rats.
The ancient Greeks made a similar type of bun called a 'bous' with horns dedicated to Apollo, Diana, the Moon and Hecate. It too was said to never go mouldy and to have mystical powers. The shape of the bun was said to represent the moon whilst the four quarters divided on the top of the bun represented the four quarters of the year.

Answer 2

You have many answers about the origins of hot cross buns. I've never before heard about keeping one all year and replacing it the next Good Friday. This sounds like an amalgamation with the custom of keeping the Palm Cross given at church on Palm Sunday until the following Ash Wednesday when the cross would be burnt and the ashes used to mark on one's forehead as a sign of penitence. Perhaps one year someone did not have a Palm Cross so kept a hot cross bun instead....

Answer 3

Hot Cross Buns Rhyme

Nursery Rhyme & History

Religious meaning of Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns are a small, spicey fruit cake decorated with a white cross as shown in the picture of our Hot Cross Buns . Generally Hot Cross Buns are served with a butter spread. Hot cross buns were hawked by street-sellers to the cry of "Hot cross buns!" around the the nineteenth century. This particular way of selling wares is demonstrated in the movie "Oliver!" based on the novel by Charles Dickens.

Hot Cross Buns are generally sold at Easter to celebrate the religious significance of the resurrection of Christ following his death on the cross in the Easter Christian festival.

More than likely they are kept as a reminder through out the rest of the year.

Answer 4

Hot Cross Buns are rolls made for the fertility goddess Eostre/Ishtar/Ostara, whose feast day it is. The cross is not a Christian cross, which has one bar longer than the other; it's an even cross, which represents the four seasons and four phases of the moon.

Tradition holds that the buns, when dried, can be used in folk medicine to help cure illnesses, or can be kept to honor the goddess all year round.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

The history goes back to the time of Cecrops, and to the lia offered to Astarte. Its very name of bun is but the oblique boun fron bous the sacred ox, whose horns were stamped upon the cake. They also did duty for the horns of Astarte.
The original home of the English custom is where the Icknield and Armynge Roads crossed. There stood in Roman times the altar of Diana, to whom the Romans offered their sacred cakes. The bread is to be used as a medicine by grating a small portion into water to form a panada.

Answer 7

The Humble Hot Cross Bun


After surviving at least two thousand years of cultural change the humble hot cross bun is definitely here to stay. However you think of Easter, it wouldn't be the same without one.

It seems as though everybody likes hot cross buns. In the ancient culture of the Assyrians, small cakes were baked and offered to Ishtar and the Egyptians honoured Hathor with similar little cakes. These earlier Easter treats were marked with a curved shape, like the crescent moon or the horns of an ox. The Greeks and Romans also made cakes for the moon goddess, marking them with ox horns.

Every eight years the planet Venus returns to the same position in relation to the sun and the earth. This synodic cycle was celebrated by the Mayas in Yucatan, the Aztecs in Mexico, and the Incas in Peru who all offered small cakes of bread for the return of Spring.

Lttle buns were baked all over pre-Christian Europe in honour of the Spring goddess, Eostre, and the Saxons carried the tradition to England. They marked their wheat cakes with a cross as the sacred symbol of the sun wheel which is in perfect balance at the Spring Equinox.

The cross also represents the four seasons, or the four phases of the moon, and were found on the sacrificial bread of lunar goddesses of many cultures. We use a circle with a cross as the biological symbol for female - the sign of Venus. When Christianity gained ascendancy, the cross on the bun came to represent the traditional Christian cross and the Easter festival became dominated by Christian traditions. In modern times we associate hot cross buns with Good Friday, or at least with the lenten season, but it took a decree from Queen Elizabeth I to limit consumption of hot cross buns to proper religious ceremonies, such as Christmas, Easter or funerals.

Traditional Easter breads are enjoyed across the world today. They are yeast-based, slightly sweet and enriched with eggs and dried fruit.

Some, like the Russian kulich, the Greek tsoureki and the Italian columba, are single large loaves or cakes, whilst others are made into little individual buns. In Australia, the buns are yeast-based, studded with raisins and citrus peel and topped with a cross of flavoured icing. .Whatever they are, they're delicious.

If you're baking hot cross buns this year make sure you choose Good Friday for your cooking. Folklore tells us this will ensure they never grow mouldy.





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Answer 8

Home made with sultanas (not currants), without the fancy cross and eaten warm with butter. The same recipe is used all year round as fruit buns but for Easter a knife is used to cut a cross as a token gesture.

Answer 9

Hi.i have looked on the net cannot find anything it must be the area you live in.i live in the North East & we do not do it.Hope you find out.Good Luck

Answer 10

You don't really want to know...lol.

Here's a hint: the cross is an ancient pre-Christian phallic symbol. "Easter," of course, was originally a pagan festival of spring and fertility.