H19-33 The traditional Bun Ceremony at the Widow's Son pub in London's East End. It is the custom for a young seaman to add a new Hot cross Bun to the many already hanging from the ceiling.Easter Good Friday, March 24, 1978.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.The Widow's Son is a Grade II* listed public house at 75 Devons Road, in Bow in the East End of London. It was built in the early 19th century, some say 1848, and it is claimed that the existing building is on the site of an old widow's cottage.The widow's buns.Every year on Good Friday, the tradition of the Widow's Buns is celebrated. The legend is that the old widow's only son left to go to sea, possibly during the Napoleonic Wars, and wrote to her explaining that he would be returning home at Easter and to have a nice hot cross bun waiting for him. Sadly, he never returned, but his mother continued to keep a fresh hot cross bun every Good Friday for the rest of her life. After her death, a huge collection of hot cross buns was discovered in a net hanging from the ceiling of her cottage.