Hot cross bun
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A hot cross bun is a type of sweet spiced bun made with currants and leavened with yeast. It has a cross on the top which might be made in a variety of ways: it could be pastry, made from a simple flour and water mixture, cut from rice paper and glazed onto the bun, or simply cut into the bun itself.
In many historically Christian countries, the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of Christ. They actually pre-date Christianity, however, being used in rituals in paganism. The Christian church in England attempted to ban them, but they were too popular, and instead Elizabeth I passed a law permitting their consumption, but only on particular religious occasions such as Easter and Christmas.
Around Easter 2003, the Daily Telegraph among other newspapers, reported that several local authorities in England (in particular Tower Hamlets Borough Council) had banned schools serving hot cross buns on the grounds of political correctness, believing the symbol of the cross could be offensive to non-Christians. This step was widely condemned, most vocally by Ann Widdecombe. As one of the cited councils, that of the City of York, issued a statement making clear that while the buns were not being served, this was for "no particular reason", and accusing the newspaper's reporter of bad faith, the veracity of the entire report was questioned.
External links
- Recipe for hot cross buns (http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/breads/yeast/hotcrossbun.html)
- "Hot cross banned: councils decree buns could be 'offensive' to non-Christians" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/16/nbuns16.xml) (Daily Telegraph article)
- Rebuttal issued by City of York Council on the claim relating to them in the Telegraph's story (http://www.york.gov.uk/cgi-bin/wn_document.pl?type=3293)
- A history of hot cross buns (http://www.erasofelegance.com/hotcross.html)