Easter In England - Tradition And Superstition

Easter is the most important event in the Christian calendar but, although England is described as a "Christian country", our society is multi-cultural and many people living in England simply enjoy Easter as a holiday and tuck into chocolate eggs and hot cross buns without giving a thought to their symbolic meanings. You would be forgiven for thinking that England has no Easter traditions because it is a time for quiet family gatherings with none of the razzmatazz and hectic atmosphere that accompanies Christmas. Many of the ancient traditions are now only observed in the close communities of our smaller towns and villages.

At Easter churches in England are decorated with special care and the Madonna Lily (also called the Easter Lily), a symbol of purity, features widely in flower arrangements. People who only attend church on special occasions will turn out on Easter Day wearing the modern equivalent of the Easter Bonnet.

There are numerous customs and superstitions associated with Easter in England that we now take for granted. Some are relatively new, some are rooted in Christianity, some stem from older beliefs and often several roots have become intertwined and meanings have merged over time so that the origins are no longer clear.

The sending of Easter cards is a fairly new custom having been introduced during the reign of Queen Victoria. A stationer added a seasonal greeting to a drawing of a rabbit which was already symbolic of the springtime and the Easter card was born.

The Easter Bunny as we know him has evolved from roots in pagan times when the hare was a powerful symbol of fertility and the new life of the spring season. The bunny's association with Easter came much later, having originated from 16th century German folk lore where children were promised that the Easter Hare would bring them eggs on Easter Day if they were good.

Easter foods are important to the celebration of Easter in England. Roast Lamb is a favourite traditional dinner for Easter Day. The lamb is a symbol of innocence in many cultures and in past centuries it was considered a lucky omen to meet a lamb, (maybe not so lucky for the lamb if Easer was approaching). Simnel cake, which is now special to Easter, was originally given as gifts to mothers on Mothering Sunday the cake is decorated with eleven balls of marzipan to represent the eleven true disciples. The all-important treats in the form of chocolate Easter Eggs only became popular in the twentieth century when solid chocolate became widely available.

Hot Cross buns are surprising rich in symbolism and superstitious meaning. To Christians hot cross buns symbolise the cross that Jesus was crucified on and it is traditional to eat them on Good Friday, the anniversary of his death. However, the Saxons ate buns marked with a cross and it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's four quarters. There are other superstitions attached to hot cross buns. One such superstition is that hot cross buns baked on Good Friday would last a year without going mouldy. Hardened buns have been used as a lucky charm to protect homes from fire. Hot cross buns and Easter are also connected with seafaring superstition: sailors took hardened buns to sea to protect them from shipwreck and many fishermen will not go to sea to catch fish on Good Friday.

There is a public house in Bow, near the docks in East London, which is named The Widow's Son and has the alternative name of "The Bun House". This building was originally a cottage belonging to a widow whose only child was a sailor. The son's ship was due back on Good Friday and he had asked his mother to bake hot cross buns to celebrate his return. He did not return on Good Friday and the widow saved one of the buns for him. Every year until her death, the widow baked hot cross buns and saved one of the batch in anticipation of having her only son restored to her. The buns were suspended from a ceiling beam (presumably to preserve them from mice). The son never returned and is believed to have perished at sea.

The cottage was turned into a public house in 1848 and the widow's hot cross bun tradition was preserved. Every Good Friday a Royal Navy sailor adds a new bun to the ones still hanging from the ceiling in a net and says a prayer in memory of the widow and her lost son. I last visited The Widow's Son many years ago when my uncle was the landlord but I believe the tradition of adding to the hot cross buns continues to this day.

Eggs are a forbidden food during Lent and their return to the menu is celebrated on Easter Day. The first Easter eggs were birds' eggs which were painted in bright colours to symbolise the fresh colours of spring. Christians would dye boiled eggs red to symbolise the blood of Christ and these were given to children in the belief that they would afford protection from bad luck throughout the following year. Nowadays few people in England take the trouble to paint ornate decorations onto boiled eggs for Easter but many people still dye boiled eggs as a traditional part of their Easter.

The tradition of Easter Egg hunts for children is no longer widespread, especially in our cities, but it has not died out completely. Easter eggs, particularly the chocolate variety, are probably the most popular and widely recognised symbol of Easter as Easter eggs symbolise new life and the resurrection, this seems quite appropriate.

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