HOT CROSS BUNS

Nearly forty-five years ago, my late mother told me that there’d come a day when my birthday fell on Easter Sunday. It was in the late 1970s when she mentioned such. I remember looking things up and seeing that Easter in 2023 was on April 9th. At the time that seemed like an eternity, and I wondered if I’d even make it. I soon forgot about the eventuality of it happening while life went on as usual.

The other morning, my wife surprised me by saying, “Your birthdays on Easter this year!” Man, I hadn’t the foggiest. Time did fly!

Looking at a calendar just to make sure, Joleen was right. That got me to wondering. What was the last time this religious holiday fell on April 9th? I discovered it was 1950, the year my brother was born.

I often wondered why Easter fell on different days unlike Christmas. It was a bit confusing to me at first, until reading through the most comprehensible explanation several times, and still finding it confusing. The reason has something to do with the Gregorian and Jewish calendars, plus a Paschal full moon. To quote from a reliable online source.

“While Christmas is fixed to a solar calendar (and near the winter solstice), Easter is based on the lunar cycles of the Jewish calendar. In the Christian religion, the Last Supper (which was the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion) was a Passover feast. It’s because Easter is based on a lunar month (which is 29.5 days) that the date of Easter can really vary.”

The rarity of Easter falling on April 9 has actually been mathematically calculated, as if mathematicians don’t have better things to do. That number is: 3.26667. This will be my first Easter birthday in 69 years.

For the past decade, I haven’t celebrated birthdays like some friends and family, finding them more sad than glad. Unlike one former co-workers’ unusual way of viewing added wrinkles, getting old is not something I relish. I do believe this one will be uplifting, because how can a person be full of gloom on the celebration day of Jesus Christ rising from the grave?

On the night of April 8, Joleen will undoubtedly ask the same question, “What does birthday boy want to eat on his special day?” My choice has generally been In-N-Out Burger or Del Taco. This time, being that it’s Easter, I want a food item I’ve never been privy to, hot cross buns.

A Catholic friend mentioned that she has to have hot cross buns at Easter, being it’d be sacrilegious for her not to. Researching their history, supposedly an Anglican Monk first made the treat back in the twelfth century, as a means to help celebrate Good Friday. Since that time, the unique buns with a cross on top have become a symbol of Easter weekend.

Someone told me that local bakeries make them, so finding half a dozen should be a piece of cake. I probably should call ahead and have my name put on a half dozen just in case.

A simple song I learned in elementary school regarding hot cross buns goes like this:

Hot cross buns.
Hot cross buns.
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns.

If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons.
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns.

In my way of thinking, this childhood tune needs to be brought up to speed where inflation is concerned.

Hot cross buns.
Hot cross buns.
One a dollar, two a dollar,
Hot cross buns.

If you have no dollar,
Visa works just fine.
One a dollar, two a dollar,
Hot cross buns.

Something tells me, I won’t be walking away without paying any less than five bucks!