A New Tradition Celebrating the Old Story
Friends, Food and Fun…
(The HCB Tea Party!)
If you’re anything like me, these last few years have left you just a little frayed around the edges. Pandemics, racial injustice, climate crisis, wars, social distancing, socially disjointing protocols pushing us all online (and some of us over the line at times!). It’s enough to make you curl up on your sofa and watch re-runs for the next three years!
It’s hard to get back into life as it was. And it’s sad waking up to the realisation that we may never get that back… whatever it was. But even as life has changed around us, there are some things we need to hold onto if we are to remain human in our own skin, precious things we need to fight to regain if we’ve let them slip away.
One thing we need to fight for (and mostly against our own comfortable apathy…talking to myself here) is community. Time spent in an actual room with actual human beings… friends, family, acquaintances and strangers-soon-to-be-friends. People who love us, annoy us and bug us. People who pry us out of our shells and into our world. It’s not good for human beings to be alone. Never has been. Never will be.
And maybe you’re not the one feeling the lack of community… the fallout from three years of social upheaval. But maybe you’re the one who can become community for someone else who is. That person right there. Just an arms length away. Just a world away. Alone.
So… to this ends. I’m sharing with you one little New tradition that is a way to use the Easter season as an excuse to gather your people around you, friends new and old and in between. A new tradition that just might build (or rebuild) bridges and restore connections that have been wearing a little threadbare thin.
I’m actually sharing with you a family tradition that we’ve been practicing in our family for more than five years now. It’s filled our lives with such warm memories, I couldn’t keep it to myself… it just has to be shared. It’s become for us our very favourite part of Easter.
So what is it?
So simple.
A Home baked Hot Crossed Bun Tea party!
Nope. I’m not talking about the store bought plastic wrapped hot crossed buns. No way. They’re not the real deal. I’m talking about filling your home with the delectable spiced aroma of home baked, home crossed, hot crossed buns. The kind that money can’t buy. The kind that make a moment and a memory… priceless.
Over the years we’ve invited old friends and new to gather around our big old table each Easter and enjoy warm HCB’s together with endless pots of tea and laughter. As we gather our people around and together do the ‘crossing’ of the buns….crossing over the line between isolation and community… there’s such a sense of fun, of family.
And then as we put them in the oven and wait together for them to bake, we spend time together, painting easter eggs, playing charades or just chatting about what life has been like.
Your job as the host is to prepare the Hot Crossed bun dough so that it is ready to be ‘crossed’ with ready prepared flour mixture for piping crosses. And then to put the kettle on ready for your guests to arrive!
So simple.
Here’s our family recipe for homemade hot crossed buns…
And there are may other versions of HCB recipes online also. Pick your favourite.
So, gather your people around you this Easter, friends new and old and in between and strangers-soon-to-be-friends, and make an Easter moment together. You just may find, like us, that this is a new tradition that you want to hold every year after this one!
Easter Blessings from our home to yours!
Liz
