Have you ever wondered where the tradition of Easter bun comes from? Well, I have wondered myself, and although I am yet to find information as to when exactly we started this tradition, it seems as if we have added our Jamaican and Caribbean flavour to an English tradition.

As a matter of fact, the research of the history of the Easter bun and even Easter itself has unearthed some interesting results.

The meaning of Easter and even bun can be traced to remote pagan history.

The name Easter was probably from the Saxon goddess Ostara, Osterr, Eastre or Astare, who was a symbol of springtime and the spirit of new beginnings. Ancient Egyptians offered cakes to their moon goddess at the beginning of spring and this practice was also carried out by the Assyrians and Babylonians. These cakes were marked with a curved shape representing the horns of an ox, the animal connected with the moon.

The Greeks and Romans also made cakes for their moon goddesses, and again marked them with ox horns. In fact, it is thought that the Greek word for these cakes, ‘boun’, meaning ‘ox’, may have given us our word ‘bun’. Many variations of these buns emerged in Europe to mark the start of spring and they eventually ended up in Britain via the pagan cultures of Northern Europe. The research indicates that after the Christians gained a firm foothold in Britain, the leaders of the Church banned the pagan Easter rites, and it was not until 782 AD, having found a way to incorporate some of these rites into the Christian ones held at this same time of year, the Christian cross was substituted for the original ox horn. The Easter festival then became dominated by Christian traditions, causing the original pagan rites to slowly move into obscurity. Nowadays, hot cross buns are associated with Good Friday, and it is said that if made on this day, they will never grow mouldy.

There are many food traditions associated with Easter celebrations, and our bun’s association with the hot cross bun we could say, is in name only since they have no other resemblance.

The hot cross bun is closely associated to a lightly sweetened roll washed with icing sugar and sometimes studded with fruits. The cross is sometimes added with the icing sugar or added pastry. Our buns at Easter are heavy spicy fruit loaves served with cheese and have no resemblance in shape size or flavour to the traditional hot cross bun. As a matter of fact, this has become such a part of our diet, that bun and cheese is had all year round. During the Easter Season, however, some persons will have bun and cheese for breakfast, lunch and snacks.

The buns at Easter time are much more spicy and fruity than the ones offered all year round. However, you have to pay a little bit more for them at this time.

Many persons make their own buns using one of the many recipes available. There are recipes for buns using baking powder as the raising agent and others for the more accomplished baker using yeast. The supermarket has a wide array of buns and persons are sometimes loyal to their favourite brands.

Because buns are so rich in sugars, fats, and fruits, they pack a lot of calories, so don’t go over board, eat in moderation. Next time we will look at some other Easter traditions to which we have added our own twist.

Stay Inhealth

Rosalee M Brown RD

Integrated Nutrition and Health Services

Email: inhealth@cwjamaica.com