Easter means many different things to many different people and religious groups. To people living in the Northern regions of the world Easter means that spring is beginning and its time to wear thin clothing, and break out the grill for some outdoor cookouts. To the not so christian among us Easter means its time to start painting eggs in festive colours and get all the children excited as they participate in easter egg hunts and get chocolate eggs and hear stories about the Easter Bunny who lays those eggs (even though rabbits don't lay eggs... which made it pretty confusing to me as a child, a confusion which was quickly dissipated with chocolate). But for Jamaicans, it means a whole other thing... in Jamaica Easter is Bun season.

I can already hear all the Jamaican readers snickering as they hear the word bun (for the none Jamaicans out there "giving bun" means you are cheating on your significant other), but I am not talking about that kind of bun, I am talking about the pastry (take your mind out of the gutter).

No this time I am speaking about the pastry bun. The Jamaican Easter bun (or you may hear spice bun) is a thick sweet breadlike pastry that is normally filled with various fruits (raisins, cherries, and mixed peel) that goes well with a thick slice of cheese. As is the case with Christmas cake, everybody has their own variation of the recipe to make Bun, but nontheless they all have their own unique deliciousness to them.

Now the tradition is normally that during this season people bake dozens of these buns and give them out to family, and friends. Those who cant bother with baking these buns just purchase any of the store brand buns (Maxfield, National, HTB) and give those out, but one thing that I can guarantee is that bun is involved. Another thing that also happens during easter is that alot of people eat more fried fish, or maybe that is just my family. Now this is not to say that the more western idea of the egg hunt and chocolate egg easter does not exist in Jamaica. There are sections of society that participate in this culture, but without a good piece of bun and cheese most Jamaicans will really feel like a fish out of water.

Of course the church is a major part of the easter tradition, Jamaica is a very christian country and we also use this season to celebrate the death of christ and the washing away of our sins... but after church there is also the sharing of bun. The other tradition that takes place in Easter is the kite flying. Every Easter in St. Ann there is a kite festival where one can go and see a multitude of kites of varying shapes and sizes.

Now alot of people may say that this tradition sounds pretty boring, after all it sounds like Easter is simply about church, bun, and watching some kites. To be honest, that is mostly what it is about in Jamaica, but boring it is not. Most Jamaicans look forward to this easter season as it is certainly one that all enjoy. All this talk about bun has actually gotten me hungry for a piece of bun as well, I shall go see if I can acquire a piece of bun. Happy Easter