Foodie Obsessed

A Little Good Friday History Lesson

by Tracey Thompson on March 20th, 2008

 image:  www.freeimage.co.uk

Holy Week is coming to an end and tomorrow is Good Friday. I love learning about the history behind many of our holidays and traditions.

The roots of this Spring celebration are connected to not only Judeo-Christian traditions, but also pagan rituals.  This year, Easter comes very early.  The date changes each year according to the first full moon after the Spring equinox.

From Wikipedia:

Easter is termed a moveable feast because it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the first fourteenth day of the moon (the Paschal Full Moon) that is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastical spring, or vernal, equinox).

Easter comes from an Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre and has close ties to Passover among other celebrations:

The variations on “Pasch” meaning Easter, such as the French Paques, adjective “Pascal” and the use of the word “Passion” to refer to Easter all have their roots in the Hebrew “Pesach” - the feast of the Passover. It was at the Passover celebrations in Jerusalem that Jesus, a Jew, was arrested, tried and executed. It was because of the holiday that his body was allowed to lie unattended in its tomb from Friday to Sunday - the Passover Sabbath being particularly significant - with a guard to ensure that there was no interference with the body. The discovery of the empty tomb on the Sunday morning and subsequent appearances of the risen Christ have made this the most spiritual of Christian holidays, and even now in this secular age the religious significance of the holiday has not been entirely lost.

Easter has been celebrated since the second century AD, but when Christian missionaries came to try to convert the pagan British, also in the second century, they found a spring festival already in place.

The Norse goddess of spring was Ostara, and she had an Anglo-Saxon counterpart in Eostre: the return of spring was celebrated with a major festival of fertility and rebirth in the goddess’s honour. The missionaries were well aware that they would have great difficulty doing away with such a popular festival but it very conveniently coincided with the Christian spring festival - also celebrating rebirth and renewal in the form of the Resurrection - and so they slowly absorbed it as the country became converted to Christianity, and the ancient name was altered to “Easter.”

During Lent, followers are asked to not eat red meat on Fridays.  This is especially important on Good Friday.  Christians believe that Christ was crucified on Good Friday and so, they do not want to shed blood.  Due to this reason, fish has become a common feast especially on Good Friday.  Fish is also the symbol of life, the feeding of the multitude and the apostles as the “fishers-of-men”.  Read more for some fast fish recipes.

Good Friday is often considered a day of fasting.  It is tradition to eat nothing or two very small meals during the day and then have a dinner in the late afternoon.  This meal is expected to not be a large feast.  Good Friday is a solemn occasion.  In places like Ireland, pubs close and alcohol can not be bought or served.  A common Good Friday meal is the Hot Cross Bun.  The cross represents the crucifixion.

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:

1 lb (450g) strong plain flour
2 oz (50g) caster sugar
1 oz (25g) fresh yeast or 4 tsp. dried yeast
quarter pint(150 ml) lukewarm milk
4 tbsp (60 ml) lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
half tsp ground cinnamon
4 oz (100g) currants
2 oz (50g) chopped mixed peel
2 oz butter, melted and cooled
1 beaten egg
2 oz (50g) granulated sugar
3 tbsp (45ml) fresh milk

Method
Blend the fresh yeast with the lukewarm milk and water and leave until it goes frothy (if using dried yeast, dissolve 1 tsp of sugar in the milk and water, sprinkle the yeast on top and leave.
Sift 4 oz (100g) of the flour and 1 tsp of the caster sugar together and add the yeast mixture. Mix well and put aside for 20 - 30 minutes the mixture should go frothy again.
Now put the remaining flour, salt and spices into another bowl. Add the remaining caster sugar, currants and candied peel and toss together.
Add this to the yeast mixture with the melted butter and the beaten egg, and mix it all together until it forms a soft dough which leaves the sides of the bowl cleanly. Turn it onto a floured surface and knead until it becomes a smooth dough which is no longer sticky.
Cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm (not hot) place to rise until it has doubled in size.

Knead the dough once more, then divide it into 12 pieces and shape each into a round bun. Stand them well apart on a greased and floured baking sheet. Cover and leave to rise again for about 30 minutes, when the dough will feel springy when pressed.
Score a cross into the top of each bun with a SHARP knife, and bake in a pre-heated oven at 220*C (425*F) Gas mark 7 for 20 - 25 minutes until the buns are deep golden brown on top.

Make a glaze by dissolving the granulated sugar in 3 tbsp of milk and brush over the top of the buns. Allow this coating to set as the buns begin to cool, then glaze a second time.
Serve either as they are or split and buttered.

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POSTED IN: Easter, Recipes