The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-04
TRACED TO REMOTE Ages
Origin and Development of a Good
Friday Feature.
The Hot Cross Ban Il Reminder Of
Ancient EE%pt-ChanginG SiGnih-
cameo of the symbol 1t Bears
From Heathenism to Christ1anity-

Ancient Egg pit hanging SiGnIA-
cameo of the symbol 1t Bears
From Heathenism to Chrisfanity-
On the morning Of Good Friday each of
the many thousand good citizens Of New
York who have come from some interior
city during the year will encounter a sur
prise which viii cause him. or mis- good
wife TO write letter TO his former home.
telling about one OF the queer customs
they have in New York. This is because
the bakers man Informs him that he viii
not get his accustomed rolls that morn
ing. because none were baked the night
before: but that if ne Will, he may hav-
instead hot cross buns. He may have
seen in the bakers window for some days
the announcement Hot Buns with a
| blood-red Roman cross between the
words, but he imagineS that it IS some
kind of Roman Catholic invention Of
European origin. with which he, good
I Methodist, Presbyterian or plain heather
has nothing to do. Nevertheless, mUcn
to his establishment. he finds himself eat
ing them Friday morning along with his
eggs and beefsteak. and IN a fashion
celebrating a church day III spite of him
self
Hot cross buns. as an American institu-
ton, are largely confined TO New York.
where English tradition. however little
the fact be known, IS stronger than else
where IN the entire country. With most
Americans ali :-iowIedge of hot cross
buns is embraced in the v1ndcr's cry
given without explanation or comment. in
that Uorld-renowned classic. Mother
| Goose-s Melodies:
| Hot cross buns. Hot cross buns,
} 4 I hot
! While there are not nearly 50 many hot
| cross buns consumed in Washington as in
| New York the local bakers find the de-
maud for them increasing every year
| One baker makes a speciality Of them ana
/ has a large number of regular customers.
! This year ne has more new orders than
| ever before.
! The cross buns of Good Friday come
( to uS from England. being unknown on
the continent of Europe or in Scotland,
neither in Ireland. unless in cities having
! close relations with England; but the
/ buns themselves, decorated with the
/ cross outdate the English language and
I civilization. and even the Christian re-
( ligiun which The cross IS popularity sup
: posed to signify.
From time without date man has found
great pleasure in worshiping fierce gods.
means of sacrifices. These were usually
! consumed by fire and permitted 10 ascend
+ in the form of smoke to the god. who IN
! this shape was supposed TO derive great
satisfaction and good from them These
sacrifices were not only the flesh Of new
/ " slain animals. but fruit, grain. cakes,
I or anything else that 4 hungry god might
! be supposed 20 relish.
/ Many Thousand INNrs ago there gather
I ed on the banks OF the Nile devout wOr-
shippers Of Isis, the goddess Of the Egyp-
! tians, who taught that people to spin and
/ weave. The festival was held in the
I spring. soon after the yerual equinox.
/ for Isis, ike the Ceres Of the Romans,
: Was the goddess Of the fields. In her
honor were mixed sacridcial cakes OF
! -four and honey, and marked with the
/ viii be remembered. had her fair brow
! adorned with pair of horns
Isis was. moreover, the goddess Of the
moon. 50 that when the Greeks adopted
Z the festival they made il in honor Of Di-
ana, the goddess Of hunting and mCOHliJ
/ groves They also adopted The cakes
/ made Of -four and honey and marked with
the two horns This they called q ''boun
from -bOus an OK or cow. the name OF
course being in alIusion to the horns with
which the "boun was decorated. The
Greeks, moreover, were very thrifty IN
I the matter OF their sacrifices, and con-
ceived that the sacrifice was quite as eff
fectiveIy consumed in honor Of the deity,
. if eaten. as if burned When animals
were sacrificed the god received the fat
and bones. the remainder being eaten by
3 the piOus deyotee. Among the Hebrews
the entire animal was sacrificed, the fat
bones blood and kidneys being placed on
. the fire, the remainder being eaten by the
priests This. il vas explained, was q
consumption OF the animal by the deity
through his Representatives. the priests
And II WAS particularly forbidden thai
this sort of proxy should be attempted
by the common people or any sacrifice
made. except through the priests
In the hands of the baker the slashes
representing the horns grew more and
more careless. the lines became straight
eT and straighter. the bases of the horns
Were crossed and finally the marking be
came q simple cross, and horns only by
cOurtcsy- From Greece the spring festi-
val and he .:boun passed to Rome and
thence 10 the Roman colonies, Of which
{ britannia became one at comparatively
+ late date.
When the Christian religion became
thoroughly established the priests back
ed Uy civil authorities, put down with
heavy hand all the heather ceremouIaIs
SO the little, cross-marked .-boun'' was
swept from ali Europe, except that fl
some part OF south England II was per.
{ rnitted 10 survive the cross taking on q
: new significance as Christian symbol
I IS the initial OF XriStOS. the Greek form
OF Christ. and later as the cross on which
I the founder OF Christianity suffered
From England they have come 10 Ameri.
ca, and the American who eats hot cross
/ buns on Good Friday can decide whether
he honors Isis, Ceres. or Diana. whether
I he eats them as d piOuS Christian act OF
. simply because he is hungry
I Good Friday in early times was q day
Of absolute and rigorous fast, ard was
called Long Friday by the AngIo-Saxors
! whose empty stomachs were their only
clocks PFOba bly, with the idea of max
Ing the day little less long they con,
WINGED themselves that il was not only
not wrong but positively meritoriOus I,
eat on this day the '-bouns' or buns
marked with the holy sign Of their re
iiSion. So the cross buns became identi
fed with the day. and Long Friday was
no more Long Friday bat Good Friday
And ON Good Friday most people Of Eng
land and New York eat hot cross buns.
{ Woman Who Welcomed Lafayette
ELIZABETH n J., April THE last
survivor OF thirteen pretty young girls
who welcomed Marquis Lafayette at Mad
ison, n J., in 1924 died yesterday at hel
home, q Catherine Street, Elizabeth. She
was a Miss Hetty Woodruff when the
E'renchman for the second time visited
America, in 1924, and passed through New
Jersey on his way to MOrristown Miss
| Woodruff afterWard became Mrs. Isaac
Faulkes- She and twelve other girls rep.
resented the original States Of the Tn.
ion. Mrs FaullIes was born February is
IS1G