"Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns; One a Penny,Two a Penny, Hot Cross Buns!"



Hot Cross Buns Nursery Rhyme. 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 are a small, spicy bun decorated with a white cross and, although they now appear in the shops at any time of the year, they are mainly to be eaten at Easter to celebrate the religious significance of the resurrection of Christ, following his death on the cross.  Hot Cross Buns were hawked by streetsellers to the cry of "Hot Cross Buns!" in the nineteenth century.  This particular way of selling wares is demonstrated in the movie "Oliver" , based on the novel by Charles Dickens.  They are usually eaten (warm obviously!) with butter, but my earliest childhood memories are of my dear dad bringing me a hot cross bun in bed every Good Friday, and the bun would be filled with Devon clotted cream.  Yummy scrummy! If you haven't tried them with clotted cream, then I can highly recommend it.  For me, eating a Hot Cross Bun on Good Friday morn, marks the nearing of Easter. The obvious connection between the buns and Good Friday is the cross on the top of the bun, but there is more to the story of the Hot Cross bun. There are two legends that revolve around the association of Hot Cross buns and Good Friday. The first one dates back to the 12th century when a monk baked a batch of buns and placed a cross on them to honor Good Friday and asked everyone to eat only buns for that day. The second legend is more interesting and touching. This legend tells about an English widow who sent her son to  sea after promising  to make him a batch of Hot Cross Buns every Good Friday. The son never returned but she continued baking the buns and putting them up in the bakery window in the faith that he would come back. After the old widow passed away the villagers kept the tradition going. Well, after typing this little post, I'm ready for MY Hot Cross Bun - bring on the clotted cream! If you are travelling to visit family or friends this Easter, I wish you safe travels.  Keep safe and have a lovely time. One of the days, we will be seeing my youngest daughter and her hubby, Eli & Ruby and my daughter's two step-sons, as they will be coming down for a meal, and, of course, we will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt in the garden. The family from France won't actually be here for Easter, but they are coming on the 13th April and staying until the 30th, so we're all looking forward to that. Sending big hugs your way my little bloggy friends.