Good for your soul

You may know the song “Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a penny, two a penny. Hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons! One a penny, two a penny. Hot cross buns!”

Hot Cross buns signify the end of Lent and different parts of the hot cross bun have certain meanings, with the cross representing the crucification of Jesus, and the spices stand for the spices used to embalm Him.

The most famous story says that the origins of the hot cross bun date to the 12th century when an English monk was said to have placed the sign of the cross on the buns to honor Good Friday. Throughout history the bun has received credit for special virtues, among them that of ensuring friendship between two people sharing a bun. An old rhyme states, “Half for you and half for me, between us two, good luck shall be.”

Another tradition holds that a hot cross bun should be kept hanging from the kitchen ceiling from one year to another to ward off evil spirits. Healing properties were also attributed to it. Gratings from a preserved bun were mixed with water to provide a cure for the common cold.

Hot cross buns have been traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the USA, Ireland, Australia, and New Zeeland. I had the pleasure of making them with Sister Colleen Ann, one of the Franciscan Sisters in Lowell Michigan.

These are the ones I made with Sister Colleen Ann.

These are ones I made by myself at home. Any shape works!

Recipe from the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in Lowell