Good Friday and Hot Cross Bun's magical powers?

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Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday. On this day, Christians remember the day when Jesus was crucified on a cross. The date of the first Good Friday will never be known, but many scholars believe that the event took place on April 7th, A.D. 30. The Anglo-Saxon name for Good Friday was Long Friday, due to the long fast imposed upon this day. The name “Good Friday’ may be derived from 'God's Friday' in the same way that good-bye is derived from 'God be with ye'. It is 'good' because the barrier of sin was broken. Since the early nineteen century, before the introduction of bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day were the only two days of leisure which were almost universally granted to working People.

Some Christians fast or abstain on Good Friday to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made. It is traditional to eat fish on Good Friday instead of meat. Many churches hold a special service (usually around 3pm which is about the time of day Jesus died). Churches are not decorated on Good Friday. In some churches pictures and statures are covered over. It is seen as a time of mourning.

It is traditional to eat warm Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday: Hot Cross Buns with their combination of spicy, sweet and fruity flavours have long been an Easter tradition. The pastry cross on the top of the rubs symbolises and reminds Christmas of the cross that Jesus was killed on.The buns were traditional eaten at breakfast time, hot from the oven. There were once sold by street vendors who sang a little song about them: “Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns, “One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns”

Hot Cross Bun ceremony: At the London Pub, the Widows Son, a Hot Cross Bun ceremony takes place on each Good Friday. In the early 19th century, a widow who lived on the site was expecting her sailor son back home for Easter, and placed a Hot Cross Bun ready for him on Good Friday. The son never returned, but undaunted the widow left a bun waiting for him and added a new bun each year. Successive landlords have kept the tradition going after the pub was opened.

Hot Cross Bun and Good Friday Superstitions

• Many fishermen will not set out for catch on good Friday
• Bread or cakes baked on this day will not go mouldy
• Eggs laid on Good Friday will never go bad
• The planting of crops is not advised on this day, as an old belief says that no iron should enter the group (i.e. spade, fork etc)
• Hot Cross Buns based on God Friday were supposed to have magical powers. It is said that you could keep a Hot Cross Bun which had been made on Good Friday for a least a year and it wouldn’t go mouldy.
• Hardened old hot cross buns are supposed to protect the house from fire
• Sailors took Hot Cross Bun to sea with them to prevent shipwreck
• A bun baked on Good Friday and left to get hard could be grated up and put in some warm milk to stop an upset tummy
• Having a hair cut on Good Friday will prevent toothaches the rest of the year.

Old tradition on Good Friday - Cramp Rings: From the reign of Edward III to that of Mary Tudor, monarchs used to bless a plateful of gold and silvery rings every Good Friday at the Chapel Royal. By rubbing the rings between their fingers, the royal touch was believe to cure cramp and epilepsy. The custom was abolished during the reign of Elizabeth I.