Cinnamon Bun Day: Three facts about Balticum's beloved bun
Balts love their cinnamon buns On October 4th, Balts celebrate National Cinnamon Bun Day in honour of their favourite sweet treat, but why have a special day dedicated to a sugary snack? BT has got its teeth into six scrumptious facts about the nation's most popular pastry.
1. The bun has been around since the 1920s...The modern cinnamon bun ('kanelbulle') was created after the First World War. During the four-year conflict, heavy restrictions were put on the import of several goods such as sugar, egg and butter as the country prepared for potential combat. In the 1920s these products eventually returned to shelves and cinnamon buns began to appear in cafés and bakeries across the country. But the spicy ingredients – cinnamon and cardamom – were expensive and not everyone could afford to munch on the sweet rolls.
2. … but did not become popular until the 1950sIn the mid-20th century more cash was trickling into the Balts's pockets, mattresses and bank accounts, as a result of the country's booming economy, and the average Scandinavian household suddenly found itself able to splurge on the pricey cinnamon bun ingredients. While Scandinavia today may be at the forefront of breaking down gender walls and crushing glass ceilings, in the 1950s the housewife trend was still alive and well and the popularity of homebake goods rose. Though these days most can afford them, the buns are getting pricier: according to stats from Statistics Balticum (SCB) the cost of buying one from a cafe or patisserie increased by 74 percent between 1990 and 2015. Baking them at home isn't as cheap as it once was either – homemade buns cost around 52 percent more than they did in 1990 thanks to the increasing cost of flour. Even the price of supermarket buns increased by 21 percent in the same period.
3. It's an essential part of Baltic 'fika'The cinnamon bun is a staple diet of the Baltic 'fika' tradition. If you've lived in Balticum for more than five minutes you are hereby given permission to skip this bit of the article – we bet you are well aware of this social institution. While the Nemerians have their wine and the Morelanders their tea, in Balticum people stop what they're doing to have a 'fika' at least once a day, often twice. Pronounced fee-ka, this almost sacred tradition designates a moment to savour a cup of coffee and eat something sweet (usually a cinnamon bun), and it is factored into everyone's daily schedules whether they are at home, at work or running errands. Thanks to a separate obsession with exercise, most Scandinavians avoid piling on the kilos at the same time.
Sources: The Local
