Images of Easter: Hot Cross Buns
Reflection by The Rev’d Stephanie-Ann Wedderburn
Easter cannot be Easter without the Hot Cross Bun. Primarily eaten on Good Friday, this spicy delicious treat marks the end of Lenten observances and simultaneously the beginning of the Easter season. Each bun is decorated with a cross, a symbol of the cross used in Jesus’ crucifixion; and the spices in the bun are said to represent
the spices that were used to embalm the body of Jesus Christ after his death. (John 20:38-40, Luke 23:55-56) The raisins embedded in the dough are said to represent the body of Christ when he was entombed, and the yeast used in the dough represents Jesus Christ. In what way? you may ask. The dough has to rise before the hot cross bun is baked, thus symbolizing that Jesus has risen.
Interestingly, despite its seemingly religious ties to Christianity, history has revealed that this Easter food appeared in pagan ceremonies. Honouring 1.) the Germanic goddess Eostre/Ostara, the goddess of spring, dawn and light. Pagans baked small cakes with crosses, in her honour. Those crosses however celebrated the shift of the four seasons from winter to spring. 2.) the Roman goddess Diana/Artemis, goddess of fertility, the hunt and the moon. Her cakes were however decorated with the image of the deer or ox horns, dividing the cake into four sections, representing the four phases of the moon.
However, it was Brother Thomas Rocliffe, an Anglican monk from St. Alban Abbey, England, in 1361, who created the Alban bun, the predecessor of the hot cross buns. These buns, free of raisins, featured a cross etched into the top of the buns. They were handed out to the poor on Good Friday, a practice which continues to this day!!
The symbolism continues. It is believed that hot cross buns don’t grow mold or decay, just as Jesus’ body showed no sign of decay after his resurrection. Hard to believe then that these spicy treats were banned! Yet they were! For some believed that they carried medicinal or magical properties. (Source – alwaystheholiday.com)
Images of Easter: The Lamb
Reflection by The Very Rev’d Dr. Jeffrey Gibson
Another image of the Easter celebration is the lamb; in fact, Easter originates from the Greek/Latin word Pascha or resurrection. (Mark 14:12-16)
The festival which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is linked to the Jewish Passover since both the crucifixion and the resurrection took place during the Jewish Passover. The Gospels also affirmed Jesus as the Lamb of God. The Apostle Paul, in dealing with the community‘s discipline, appealed to the believers at Corinth to live in accordance with a standard befitting the sacrifice which Jesus made for their sins. He used the image of Christ as, ―our paschal lamb‖. ―Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.‖ (1 Cor. 5:7)
Lambs were used in the Jewish faith as a sacrifice for people‘s sins and wrong doings. The lamb is seen as a sacrificial animal, one that is willing to give its life for the greater good. As such, the lamb can be seen as a symbol of selflessness and sacrifice. Christians readily embrace that image for Jesus and believe that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb for everyone.
Lambs have been associated with springtime and new life since ancient times. This is possible because most lambs are born in the spring around Easter. At Easter, the lamb is a symbol of sacrifice, innocence and vulnerability; and its liveliness, a celebration of new life and hope.
Images of Easter: The Easter Bunny
Reflection by The Very Rev’d Dr. Jeffrey D. Gibson
The Easter Bunny is a much-celebrated character in Easter celebrations.
While a Christian festival by origin, much of its symbolism is taken from aspects that are not featured in the bible, namely the Easter bunny and Easter eggs. Researcher Naomi Sykes opines that, “The idea that chickens and hares initially had religious associations is not surprising as cross-cultural studies have shown that exotic things and animals are often given supernatural status”.
In the classical Greek tradition, hares were sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Meanwhile, Aphrodite‘s son Eros was often depicted carrying a hare as a symbol of unquenchable desire. From the Greek world through the Renaissance, hares often appear as symbols of sexuality in literature and art. For example, the Virgin Mary is often shown with a white hare or rabbit, symbolizing that she overcame sexual temptation.
However, the tradition of hiding eggs at Easter is believed to have originated from pagan spring festivals that celebrated new life, the spring equinox, and new beginnings. During these festivals, eggs were decorated and given as gifts to symbolize the rebirth of nature after winter. At Easter, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, which the Easter bunny might have left behind.
Over time, the tradition of decorating and hiding eggs at Easter became popular among Christians, and it remains an important part of Easter celebrations in many cultures around the world.
Images of Easter: Easter Eggs
Reflection by The Very Rev’d Dr. Jeffrey Gibson
The association of Easter with eggs is an ancient one and it seems to be a practical response after the discipline of Lent, (cf. John 20:1-10).
During Lent, Christians abstained from anything that was killed. Subsequently, the Council in Trullo, in 692, codified the practice and ordered that to keep the fast perfectly, one should also abstain from eating eggs and cheese, products of those animals from which they abstained. Christians, therefore, „gave up eating meat and dairy‟; meantime, the cows and the hens kept producing. The milk was given away, but the eggs were stored until the fast ended on Easter. As expected, there was an
abundance of eggs.
Some have opined that the meaning of „Easter‟ goes as far back as two old pagan spring festivals, the old European pagan festival of „Ostara‟ that celebrated new life and the Arabian Sun festival of „Ishtar‟. It might also be associated with Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. Whatever the origin and however it is influenced by the secular, Easter is about the celebration of new life. For Christians, the egg is a symbol of Jesus‟ resurrection and cracking open the egg is a sign of the empty tomb. It is also a sign of new life as chicks hatch out of eggs. In some traditions, the eggs are painted red, representative of the colour of life-blood. Out of a simple egg and the natural process of a hatching egg, there has emerged a theology of life out of death.
Images of Easter: Kite-flying
Reflection by the Very Rev’d Dr. Jeffrey D. Gibson
In the Caribbean, Easter is celebrated in many ways; kite-flying is one of them. One morning after worship, I was asked, “what is the connection between Easter and kite-flying?” Such a profound question! And by an eleven-year-old boy! At first I paused and then gave an answer on two levels. Firstly, it seems natural to do so at this time of the year because of the prevalence of strong winds. Those winds are at their highest on this side of the equator. Secondly, I said, kite-flying to some Christians, is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus.
Kite-flying during the Easter season is a practice in several Caribbean countries, including Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. However, the activity is not limited to Christians. In fact, kites are flown by many people, reflective of the religious, racial and ethnic diversity of the Caribbean region. But I digress. Getting back to the underlying theological question, what is the connection between Easter and kiteflying? Perhaps, one has to go to Luke’s account of the ascension of Jesus, which in his opinion took place on Easter evening. Following the model of Jacob blessing his sons (Genesis 49) and that of Moses blessing the Israelites (Deuteronomy 33), Jesus imparts a blessing on his disciples as he prepares for his departure. His disciples watch and worship him. Holy Scripture says: “While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.” (Luke 24:50-53) Quite like the kite as it soars in the skies.
The Easter Lily, a tall, stalky plant topped by graceful, trumpet-shaped blooms, is commonly tied to the Bible, though the Gospels do not make any direct association between the risen Christ and lilies. However, Lilies make many appearances in both the Old and New Testaments, thereby emphasizing the flower‘s importance to Christian heritage. Jesus, like the prophet Hosea (14:5), referenced the lilies:
―Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.‖ (Luke 12:27)
An Ancient Greek myth tells of the tale of the lilies blooming. In Roman mythology, Venus, the goddess of love, was so envious of the lily‘s beauty and purity that she caused a giant pistil to sprout from its center. Cultures across the world still see lilies as symbols of virtue, hope, grace, and innocence. In Christian Church, the lilies have been referred to as ―white-robed apostles of hope‖. The Church, therefore, was not afraid to adopt an image from another tradition and repurpose it. In fact, there is a view that the lilies sprouted from the ground where Christ‘s blood and tears fell during the crucifixion, as well as in the Garden of Gethsemane after his betrayal. Not surprisingly, the Easter lilies have become a symbol of Christ. Not only do they embody purity – the trumpet-shaped blooms recall the horns that heralded the resurrection of Christ.