Superstitions claim that cutting a cross on the top of your soda bread keeps the evil spirits out. In the 19th century, it was believed that a cross slashed atop your bread let the devil out while the bread baked. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt was also believed that the symbolism can be interpreted as blessing the bread and giving thanks, I like that one better!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA more practical reason is it allow the bread to bake faster and evenly.