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The celebration of ‘Soul Cakes’ is a perfect and respectful way to celebrate the 9/11 tragedy.

Here are today’s five thing to know about Hot Cross Buns:

  1. A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top.
  2. Ancient Greeks marked cakes with a cross, to symbolize remembrance of those who have past, ‘Soul Cakes’
  3. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term “hot cross bun” was not until 1733.
  4. It is believed that buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre (the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon); “Eostre” is probably the origin of the name “Easter”.
  5. In many historically Christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion.

Today’s Food History

  • 1721 Rudolph Jacob Camerarius died. A German botanist, he showed the existence of sexes in plants, and identified the stamen and pistil as the male and female organs.
  • 1777 The Battle of Brandywine in the American Revolutionary War. The British win, enabling them to capture Philadelphia.
  • 1851 Sylvester Graham died in Northampton, Massachusetts. He advocated vegetarianism, temperance and the use of coarse ground whole wheat (graham) flour. He developed the Graham cracker in 1829.
  • 1959 Congress passed legislation creating the Food Stamp program.
  • 1961 The World Wildlife Fund, a  conservation organization, was founded.