This weeks’ Friday’s Food Quiz Number 24 from my friend Pink was very challenging for me!
1. On what day are hot cross buns traditionally eaten?
Good Friday. In pagan times, the round bun with a cross was eaten to honour the pagan goddess of Spring.
2. What is the tradition behind the roast lamb dinner that many people eat on Easter Sunday?
Easter is embedded in the traditions surrounding Pesach – the Jewish Passover. For the Passover, a lamb was sacrificed. Lamb was eaten, and the blood was used to mark the door posts of the Jewish homes so that the angel of death would know which homes to pass over to follow G-d’s instructions. For Passover, the Seder plate includes a lamb bone.
3. Why is a Simnel cake traditionally decorated with 11 marzipan balls?
Could this be for the people at the last Supper, excluding Jesus?
4. Why is eggs part of the celebrations during Easter?
Again, only knowing the Jewish traditions, eggs are eaten at Passover to symbolize eternal life.
5. Where is a special kind of bread, called “paska”, prepared for Easter Sunday? (Paska is made of flour and yeast and is decorated with a cross and flowers and birds.)
paska sounds Russian – so, I would guess somewhere in what was once called the Soviet Union, Romania, Bulgaria …
6. Where is it a tradition to paint eggs red for Easter and what does it symbolizes?
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
7. Where is dove shaped Pannetone and Colomba breads’ often given as gifts over Easter?
Pannetone is Italian but Colomba sounds Spanish, so guessing the Mediterranean countries?
8. What is the name of the Greek Easter bread, traditionally given as an Easter gift from children to their godparents in Greece?
I have no idea!
9. What does Pretzels represent?
it is shaped as a knot – and I think has something to do with representing a cross
10. What is the most famous Russian Easter bread called?
I am clueless!
Ooh, an interesting one here. I can tell you about Colomba as it´s from italy., It´s very similar to panettone but without fruit and a little lighter. It´s a bread shaped in the form of a dove to represent peace and it´s eaten at Easter…and very good it is too!
I have never seen it, but then again we have never been in Italy at Easter. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Another fabulous sharing session my friend – I didn’t know the buns were associated with a pagan goddess – cool! 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
A lot of religious tradition has its foundations in paganism 🙂
I always enjoy these little quizzes as I learn so much! 😀
thanks Lorraine 🙂
Whoa….that WAS challenging! Well done, Tandy…learnt loads, as usual.
it was a challenge indeed 🙂
Great quiz. What is the name of the bread?
Sally and Sam have told me it is Kulich 🙂
The easter bread is kulich I think 🙂
thank you Sally 🙂
Answer to the last question… Kulich!! I remember reading about it before! http://russianmomcooks.com/2012/03/30/russian-friday-kulich/ wow Tandy! Very impressed with your answers! I would have been tempted to just google everything! haha.. 😡
thank you so much for that answer – now to try and remember it 🙂
Very interesting and informative, Tandy. I can eat hot cross buns on any day of the year. 😉
Me too – especially toasted for breakfast 🙂
those were great questions and had me smiling as I thought back to having hot x buns on easter sunday when I was a child. My dad would go the local bakery and pick up fresh ones, just divine.. I think you might be right about the simnel cake. I haven’t seen one of those for years! 🙂
my mom says she thinks my answer is correct for the simnel cake! Nothing beats freshly baked anything 🙂