Hot Cross Buns!

Ah, the hot cross bun: an Easter tradition here in Australia and other British colonies. I assume the Americans stopped the tradition around the same time as they dropped the u's and cancelled the Queen's Birthday public holiday. It's offered on or near Good Friday, and the cross on top represents the crucifixion. Some schools in England have stopped serving them in order to be sensitive to non-Christians. Something Bill O'Reilly might call a War On Easter! But seriously people, you're eating a crucifix... who should be offended here?

So what is this "hot cross bun!"? (For some reason it is frequently followed by an exclamation point.) Well, you would imagine a warm, sticky, gooey sweet pastry of some kind. This is what I expected two years ago when I was invited to try my first hot cross bun! I lingered in the kitchen area and watched the boxes being opened. I picked one up, careful not to burn my fingertips - no worries, it's cold.

Let me inspect this foreign dish on my plate. Hmmm, it looks like white bread. There's a white cross on the top, so that must be extra sweet. The top's a bit shiny. There is one raisin sticking out of one of the sides... I made sure to get one with a raisin - about one in four.
Now to taste: still cold. Not sweet. Tastes like a dinner roll. It's really not very sweet at all. Smother it with some butter or jam and it's a good morning snack!

I'm about to try my third round of hot cross buns! today. Maybe today I'll understand why this tradition has persisted. It's clear why other traditions have persisted: presents on Christmas because we like presents; candy on Halloween because we like to eat candy; beer on St. Pat's because we like to get drunk.

If you care to shed some light, please add a comment.

*** EDIT - The hot cross buns! that I had this morning were far better than any ones I've had before. A tradition worth keeping!