Rev'd Dr Helen Hall, Associate Professor NLS https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/law/helen-hall
Food retailer Iceland received complaints this Easter over its decision to sell “hot tick buns”. What was intended as a light-hearted change in response to customer feedback, provoked criticism from some quarters, and accusations of erasing the religious dimension of the holiday. Iceland stressed that this was not its aim, and pointed out that they continue to stock traditional hot-cross buns. Based on a similar backlash to Cadburys outlet stores advertising “gesture eggs”, this answer is unlikely to placate some critics.
Hot-cross buns are deeply rooted in the traditions of the United Kingdom, although their origin is obscure. In common with many academic questions, the answer probably depends upon definition: what exactly qualifies as a hot-cross bun? There is good evidence that people have been eating sweet, spiced bread or cakes around festivals, including spring ones, deep into the mists of time. The custom in this sense certainly predates Christianity, although it continued and was enthusiastically embraced by Christian cultures.
Not only did people enjoy tucking into the sweet treat, its associations with one of the most sacred days in the religious calendar made it a natural resource within folk magic. Appropriating these buns for magical purposes did not carry the social, legal, and spiritual danger of covertly using Communion wafers for illicit rituals, but their link with the Body of Christ and a time of year when Christians were expected to receive Communion made them a natural substitute. A single hot-cross bun was sometimes preserved, often suspended from a rafter in the kitchen. This was thought to have protective powers, warding off fire or evil spirits, and once the bun had become hardening, bits could be grated off and used as an ingredient in healing drinks.
In 1592 Elizabeth I banned bakers from selling buns and spiced bread, except at Christmas, on Good Friday, and for funerals. This attempt at keeping decadence, superstition and habits associated with Roman Catholicism in check almost certainly had the opposite effect. It cemented the association between the buns and sacred times, and prohibited luxuries tend to be coveted. The failed bun clampdown is illustrative of the limits of law making and enforcement. Unless there is sufficient “buy in” for the population who are subject to a given law, it is likely to wither on the vine. There needs to be a critical mass of voluntary compliance for a law to viable, as authorities lack the resources to compel obedience from society as a whole. Changes in law cannot in and of themselves bring about changes in behaviour.
Legal instruments are also extremely revealing about the society that generates them. By and large, lawmakers do not go to the trouble of proscribing behaviours that nobody is engaging in, however theoretically undesirable they might be. There is a reason why no law explicitly forbids smearing toothpaste on statues and other outdoor public works of art. The bun-ban indicates that people were stuffing themselves with fruity, spicy cakes on any day that they got the opportunity. The appearance of hot-cross buns and Easter eggs on supermarket shelves from Boxing Day onwards is not necessarily indicative of any major shift in British culture, but business as usual for team humanity. We are a species of primate and hard-wired to grab sweet foodstuffs if given the opportunity. The Elizabethan law was an attempt to restrict access to a particular treat with certain cultural associations, but the popularity of the buns was too great to be so easily suppressed.
We hope that whatever your personal beliefs and traditions, you have an enjoyable time this Easter Bank Holiday.
Related Articles
Iceland Faces Backlash After Christian Symbol on Hot Cross Buns Replaced with Ticks, Evening Standard (March 2024) https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/iceland-hot-cross-bun-easter-christian-holiday-tick-b1146856.html
Eleanor Barnett, “Holy or Heretical: A History of Hot Cross Buns”, English Heritage https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/easter/a-history-of-hot-cross-buns/
Rachel Nurver, “Five Historical Myths and Traditions About Hot Cross Buns-A Pre-Easter Pastry” The Smithsonian (17 April 2014) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-great-myths-about-hot-cross-buns-traditional-pre-easter-pastry-180951130/
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