One a penny, two a penny...

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!

Q.
Each Easter, my family celebrates with a traditional Guatemalan Easter feast. It consists of fried salt fish, rice and delicious salad of pickled beetroot, cauliflower and fresh peas; it's a simple meal, but I look forward to it every year. Each year, my family looks to me to bake dessert, so this past Easter, I decided to attempt the traditional hot cross buns. As my home filled with the sweet, yeasty fragrance of the bread rising, I began thinking, why are these little buns seen mainly around Easter? So, today's question is: What is the symbolism of hot cross buns?

Yep. I made these!

A.

Of course the Christians took this one over! According to the Church of England, the hot cross bun has a number of meanings that are tied to Easter, which include the bread symbolizing the communion host, the spices are meant to mirror the spices that Jesus was wrapped in when laid in the tomb, and the cross to show the crucifixion... but how do they explain the fruit?

Upon further exploration, crossed buns can be traced back to pagan times, where the spring festival commemorating the goddess Eostre, included ceremonial cakes marked with a cross. The Egyptians also offered small round cakes marked with a representation of a pair of ox horns to their moon goddess. Additionally, the ancient Greeks produced little buns called "boun"offered to the gods, where the cross is speculated to represent the four quarters of the moon.

Hot cross buns as an Easter tradition began in Elizabethan times. At that time, hot cross buns were made from same dough as communion wafers, the Protestant monarchs viewed this as a Catholic hold on Britons and enforced a law that limited the sale and consumption of them to Christmas, Easter and funerals. In the time of James I, this law seemed nearly impossible to enforce and bakers were allowed to produce spiced bread throughout the year.

In modern times, hot cross buns come in all varieties such as apple and cinnamon, orange and cranberry, and toffee... but give me the traditional ones any day!

Sources:

BBC News - How did hot cross buns become two a penny, April 1, 2010

Food Timeline - Easter foods history & symbolism

The New York Times - Who were the first to cry "hot cross buns?" March 31, 1912

Wikipedia - Hot cross bun

Vay-cay

February 24, 2010

For more than 10 years, I have been talking about visiting Belize. I initially wanted to go there on my honeymoon, but with my husband being from another country and not all of his family able to attend the wedding, things didn’t really work out and our honeymoon was spent visiting with those that couldn’t make it to see our nuptials. Then, I wanted to go for my fifth anniversary, but things didn’t really work out in general. So, in the midst of a divorce, I figure I’m going to go on vacation to Belize. Being part Guatemalan, my matriarchal family never lets me forget that Belize used to be a part of Guatemala. My former husband maintained that Belize was a British colony. Now, much like me, Belize is an independent nation. Today’s question is: when did Belize achieve independence?

A:
Belize was initially inhabited by the Mayans between 200 A.D. and 1000 A.D. The culture slowly declined throughout Central and South America with the conquering attempts of the Spanish and British. In preparation for colonization, The British-Guatemala Treaty over Belize was established in 1859 to settle the boundaries of the countries. In 1862 Belize became a colony of British Honduras, making Belize the last British colony on the American mainland.

1933 Guatemala reasserted its claim to Belize stating that the treaty of 1859 was an agreement of cession through which Guatemala would give up its territorial claims. The Guatemalan Governor General, Jorge Ubico, disputed the validity of the treaty under the grounds that Britain did not fulfill the terms and commitments of the document. Britain maintained that Guatemala had never exercised any authority over the area or protested British presence until the 19th century. A series of political negotiations began and continued well into the 1970s, yet the dispute was never resolved. In 1975 Britain allowed the colonial government to internationalize its case for independence, so Belizeans participated in international diplomacy even before the area became a sovereign nation. The stalemate in the protracted negotiations between Britain and Guatemala over the future status of Belize led Belizeans to seek the international community's assistance in resolving issues associated with independence.

In 1981 Belize became an independent nation, through the support of Central American and Caribbean countries who campaigned on Belize’s behalf.

Sources:
BBC News – Belize Country Profile
Belize – Decolonization and the Border Dispute with Guatemala
History of Belize – Chronological Table

Mom, Pop, Suzy and Little Johnny

February 16, 2010


Today's post is a continuation of yesterday. I had quite an eventful day today - I went to see Editors in concert - but I was left questioning the "made up holiday" of the third Monday of February. In 2008, Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario, decided that Ontario would observe this as a statutory holiday just as the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan do. Today's question is: when did Alberta begin observing Family Day?

A: Family day was first observed in 1990 in Alberta, it was created to recognize the pioneers who first settled there and to emphasize the importance of the modern day family. Saskatchewan followed suit in 2007, and as mentioned above, Ontario began observing in 2008.

In researching, I came across this line from TimeandDate.com:

On Family Day, many people plan and take part in activities aimed at the whole family. These include visiting art exhibitions, watching movies, skating on outdoor ice rinks, playing board games and taking part in craft activities... As the weather is usually very cold in February, hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies are popular snacks.

Where these people think we live? A Hallmark snow globe?! Admittedly, I went skating with my brother, but had he not suggested it, I would have stayed in bed and been the miserable, antisocial, biotch that I normally am! ;)

Source:
Calendar: Family Day