Yum ...! Hot Cross Bun

Good Friday Food ... Yum! 3 days to go.... Hmm.....

Hot cross buns are sure to pop up in your mind if you're talking about Good Friday food. But no one knows how the tradition of baking buns on Good Friday started as it is believed that the origin of baking these buns dates back to pagan times. But nevertheless, it has been a custom that on Good Friday and throughout the Easter season, buns are either home-baked or bought from bakeries. The only decoration done on these buns is that of sugar icing in the form of a cross which signifies the Crucifixion of Christ. Long ago, the street vendors of England sold these buns and to advertise for these buns, they used to sing a particular song which now has become a popular nursery rhyme. It goes something like this:

Hot cross buns !
Hot cross buns !
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns !

There is another story relating why hot cross buns are baked on Good Friday. It says that an English lady, whose son was setting off for the sea, vowed to him that she would bake him a bun every Good Friday. Her son never returned but each year she would bake a bun for him hoping that he would return. This tradition was carried forward by the English even after the demise of the lady and even today, on the last day of Lent and also during Easter, buns are baked and fish, instead of meat, is cooked in almost all Christian homes. So if you want to unearth some 'good'ness on a Good Friday, give your dear ones a sweet treat of hot cross buns in the hope and joy of a Happy Easter !

I remember I used to buy from this shop called 'Chin Bee Chin' at East Coast and the buns were snapped up in no time, tasty and hot! Yummy!

And may the Lord's blessings be with you on Good Friday and always !