Bannock

In the past, at Imbolc, the first day of Spring according to Gaelic calendar, St Bride's "bannock" or "bonnach" was baked and given to the young girls as a blessing. One was also left outside as a gift for St Bride when she passed in the night to bless all the homes...

In Scotland bannocks were made for Bannock Nicht (aka Shrove Tuesday) from oatmeal, egg, and salt, with the liquid for the mixture being either beef broth or milk. They were called Sautie Bannocks because of the fact that they were baked in the fire and were covered in soot...

Sautie Bannock was made by a single girl who was not allowed to speak. The other girls would try to tease her into speaking. A silver ring was worked into the dough. The cooked bannock was shared amongst the unmarried women and the one who found the ring would get married next...

Bannock or pan bread (pan cake) is the oldest type of bread. The first bread was probably a result of a lucky accident in which a thick porridge dripped on hot hearth stone and was transformed into tasty crispy crust...

Irish and Scottish bannocks are made by virgin unmarried girls. At the beginning of Spring...To mark the arrival of Bride (Biddy), virgin Spring Earth...And these round pan breads, pan cakes when cut into slices look like a shining sun...Interesting...

Even more interesting is that in Scotland bannocks are made not on Imbolc, the first day of Spring according to the Gaelic calendar, but on Pancake Tuesday....At the same time when Slavs celebrate their ancient pan cake (pan bread) festival Maslenitsa (the original Pancake Tuesday)...When they bake and eat round yellow pancakes. Which symbolise the sun...

O yeah and Slavs like eating these sun shaped cakes while burning the effigies of Morena, Marzana (Winter Hag)...

I talked abut this in my article "Gryla"...

This is what these pancakes symbolise: the return of the Sun God Jarilo from the Otherworld which transforms the Ugly Old Barren Hag Winter Earth (Cailleach in Ireland and Morana or Marzana in Slavic countries) into a Beautiful Young Fertile Maiden Spring Earth (Brigid, Bride, Biddy in Ireland and Vesna in Slavic countries)...By warming her up...

Ever wandered why Brigid, who is celebrated at the beginning of spring, is "the fire maiden"?