Easter is filled with many European traditions and symbolic foods from ancient times, but Chef Seeto wonders how we could give the Easter feast of treats and banquets more of a Fijian twist
NO matter what your religious beliefs, the symbolisation of a new start brings a whole different meaning to Easter this year, as it combines with the Chinese Year of the Rooster, which also symbolises the dawn of a new awakening.
If you’re feeling superstitious, it’s a good year to open a new business, start a new family or a new diet. With Easter fast approaching, it’s also a good time to reflect on the meaning and symbolism of Easter means to you.
Rabbits, chocolates and candy
Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, but the seasonal chocolate eggs and the fluffy bunny that delivers them, are nowhere to be found in scripture.
The exact origins of the Easter bunny are clouded in mystery. One theory is that the symbol of the rabbit stems from pre-Christian pagan tradition, specifically the festival of Eostre; a goddess of fertility whose animal symbol was a bunny. Rabbits, known for their energetic breeding, have traditionally symbolised fertility and making babies!
But how did the Easter bunny begin delivering eggs in modern Western mythology? According to History.com, the theory with the most evidence is that the story of the floppy-eared bearer of candy came with German immigrants to America in the 1700s.
The German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania brought their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” with them. Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its coloured eggs. Eventually, the custom spread across the US and the fabled rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Some children even left out carrots for the bunny, just in case he got hungry from all his hopping!
While the Easter bunny story is over 300 years old, the tradition of giving and receiving chocolate at Easter is relatively new, dating back only as far as the late 19th century. Before that, hen’s eggs, often painted or dyed red, were given, a tradition that stems back to pagan times when eggs were considered symbols of renewal and spring.
The first mass-produced chocolate egg was in England in 1873 when Cadbury debuted its first Easter egg; by the early 1900s, milk chocolate eggs were widely available. Today, eggs and bunnies come in an extraordinary range of colours and shapes.
Many Australians especially appreciate the Easter bilby, the native answer to the tin-foil wrapped feral import. There are no rabbits or bilbies in Fiji but maybe our manufacturers could emulate some of our own feral animals like the mongoose, bat or what about a chocolate rat or green chocolate iguana?
Paying homage to ancient meals
No matter what your religious beliefs, Easter Sunday in many parts of the world would not be complete without the family coming together over a meal of roast lamb. Cooked traditionally in a baking tray with roasted potato and pumpkin, or given a Mediterranean bent courtesy of ingredients such as garlic, olives and lemon, lamb remains the quintessential Easter Sunday feasting meat.
The origins of eating lamb at Easter go back to the first Jewish Passover, when the faithful would roast a sacrificial lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs in the hope that the angel of God would pass over their homes and ensure those inside suffered no harm. As some Hebrews converted to Christianity, they kept this tradition and so many Christians – often referring to Jesus as the “Lamb of God” – placed a special emphasis on the meat.
Many Western countries, especially those in Europe, still place a special emphasis on Easter lamb. In France, the racks of lamb are roasted and then the main meat meal is followed by special Easter cakes. In Greece, whole lambs are cooked on the spit, with the innards of the animal used to make a hearty soup. In Australia, the commonplace practice during the early to mid-decades of the 20th century was to eat lamb every Sunday for a hot lunch feast after church. It was a nod to the nation’s plentiful sheep supplies and an extension of the Easter habit into the every day.
In Fiji, the expense of prime imported lamb cuts could easily be replaced by the less expensive lamb shanks, or why not make it more Fijian by replacing the baby lamb with a tender baby goat for our Easter feasts!
Cross buns all the time
Hot cross buns may have been on sale all week but traditionalists will wait until the morning of Good Friday before they tuck into a toasted bun for breakfast. Filled with dried fruit, seasoned with fresh spices and boasting a well-glazed crust, the perfect hot cross bun is most commonly toasted and spread with lashings of real butter.
Australians eat more than 25 million buns each Easter and clever bakers continue to evolve the original recipe by adding chocolate, sourdough, gluten-free and even fruit-free buns to their baking repertoire. But these modern versions are a long way from the original hot cross buns, which are thought to have come from ancient Greece — although the Saxons also ate buns marked with a cross in honour of the goddess of light, Eostre, whose name we know as Easter.
For Christians, the cross on top of the buns is a symbol of the crucifixion and, according to superstition, hot cross buns baked on Good Friday never went mouldy and were sometimes kept from one year to the next.
So what would a Fijian cross bun recipe be like? How about a cross between the traditional fruit bun and coconut bun; the hot cross lolo bun!
There is an old saying that if you share a hot cross bun and say “Half for you and half for me, between us two shall good will be,” it will guarantee friendship with that person for the coming year. Share hot cross buns with your family and friends in this holy month, and then cherish those friendships and treat them as holy for the coming year!
