Hot Cross Buns

"Grammie, tell me the story of the hot cross buns again," I said to my ninety plus year old grandmother.

Sitting in her favorite recliner, the tiny woman had on a flowered dress, a handmade apron, support hose and sensible dove gray tied shoes.  On the side table next to her lay her beautiful golden embroidery scissors, a spool of thread and a needle, a silver-colored thimble and her well-worn Bible. Her short gray, permed hair was pinned back with a bobby pin behind each ear.

"Well, when I was a young girl my father owned a horse-drawn delivery service.  He would pick up bread, pastries and rolls from the large bakery in our city and take them to his customers."

"On the Thursday before Good Friday, we set up great big trays on saw horses in our dining room and my father would fill the trays with hot cross buns from the bakery. Chrissy [her sister], Mama, Pop, Auntie Gert and I would count out the customer orders and put the buns in bags to get them ready for delivery in the middle of the night."

 

"Soon after midnight on Good Friday, we loaded up the wagon and saddled our horse, Don.  Chrissy and I road in the back of the wagon and it was our job to jump out with the orders.   Our customers' homes were all up and down the streets by the beach in Milford."

"We knew where all our customers lived.  And we knew all their dogs so we would slip past them and leave the Good Friday buns on the kitchen tables.  As long as Grampie owned a bakery delivery route, that was our tradition."

Ever since my grandmother told me that story, I have tried to make her hot cross buns for Good Friday as often as possible.  I love the idea of keeping the family story alive with something so tangible.  All senses are involved when I bake the buns--the sight of all the buns lined up on the pan;  the wonderful smell that fills the house;  the sound of the oven door opening and closing;  the sticky touch of the frosted cross;  the sweet taste of the soft bread bun.

Anticipating Passover and Easter it occurs to me that God cares deeply about food traditions for the purpose of keeping the stories of His people alive.  He knows how frail our memories are so He gave us meals to illustrate freeing His people from Egypt and sending His Son as Savior to free His people from the bondage of sin.  Today when we eat those meals God says, "do this in memory of Me."

So as you celebrate your holidays, enjoy your family traditions and remember to enjoy God's family traditions as well.