A favourite Easter food tradition
Let’s be honest. Most of our celebrations, traditions and bits of folklore come with something tasty attached. And for the Yorkshire Appetite team, Easter and that proper springtime feeling has always meant one thing… hot cross buns. They’ve got a surprisingly long back story too- part Pagan ritual, part Christian symbolism, and part old fashioned superstition. These days you can find hot cross buns in every flavour going but how did they get here and why are they a big part of our Easter?
Back in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I banned the sale of hot cross buns except on three occasions: Good Friday, Christmas and at burial ceremonies. Naturally people just baked their own and carried on because once a food tradition is rooted in a season it’s quite hard to stamp out.
Then there’s all the symbolism – the cross on top is usually said to represent the crucifixion. Some traditions link the spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to the spices used in burial rituals and the dried fruit to the fruits of the spirit. Even orange peel sometimes gets a mention as a nod to the bitterness of Christ’s suffering. If you fancy going even further back, the season has Pagan origins too – “Eostre” was the Goddess of spring and dawn and some stories say the cross on the bun originally stood for the four seasons or even the four phases of the moon.
Hot cross buns have collected a lot of superstitions over the years: sailors were said to take them on voyages to ward off shipwreck and a favourite one that says if you share a bun with a friend you’ll stay close for the year ahead.
Of course it’s not just us but lots of countries have their own sweet Easter breads. In Portugal there’s a “Folar da Pascoa”, often baked with hard-boiled eggs in their shells (a symbol of family, friendship and rebirth). In Argentina, a “Rosca de Pascua” is shaped like a ring to represent eternal life and it’s usually topped with crème pâtissiere, candied fruit and nuts.
These days, you can find all sorts of hot cross bun flavours – from chocolate orange to red velvet, and even Marmite and cheese. But for us, the classic spiced one still wins, it just tastes like Easter.
Find them at your local Yorkshire Bakery:
Thomas the Bakers, Bettys, Bondgate Bakery (Otley), Haxby Bakehouse (York)
