06 April 2017
“Absolutely ridiculous… frankly.”
What exactly is the relationship between Jesus and chocolate Easter eggs?
By Lynda Goetz
The Twittersphere is apparently alive with it; the Church, the Press, descendants of John Cadbury and even the politicians have been wading in on the subject of the National Trust, Cadbury’s Easter Eggs and the Great British Egg Hunt. Members of the National Trust have been jamming the phone lines threatening to resign their membership. The Prime Minister, in Amman, en route to an important trade mission to Saudi Arabia, expressed the opinion that it was “absolutely ridiculous… frankly” that there should be no mention of Easter in the advertising for the egg hunts put on at National Trust properties in collaboration with Cadbury’s. Apart from the fact that most of this seems to be an over-reaction of major proportions by all concerned, what, if any, is the connection between the religious significance of Easter and chocolate eggs?
The Daily Mash, a wonderful satirical online magazine with thousands of followers, yesterday chose the following delicious headline; ‘Cadbury ignoring part of Bible where rabbit gives Jesus a Wispa egg’. Clearly, this is ‘fake news’, but it certainly makes the point. Is there anywhere, any connection at all between Jesus and chocolate eggs given at Easter? The answer must, of course, be ‘no’. So how has this link arisen in our culture and consciousness?
On Cadbury’s own site they give a brief history of how this has come about, pointing out that although the Christian customs connected with eggs go back a long way, they are ‘to some extent adaptations of ancient pagan practices related to spring rites’. The egg is in many cultures and religions connected, unsurprisingly, with fertility, rebirth and renewal, so its adoption by the Christians as a symbol of the Resurrection is likewise unsurprising. Originally these Easter eggs were ordinary hens’ or ducks’ eggs brightly painted at home. As time went on and it became possible to manufacture egg-shaped toys or gifts, these were given, frequently filled with sweetmeats or other ‘goodies’. By the 19th century, chocolate Easter eggs were being produced in Europe. Initially these were solid, as it wasn’t until later that the method for producing hollow chocolate eggs was perfected – the forerunners of the ubiquitous, commercialised offerings which appear in our supermarkets almost as soon as Christmas is over.
The tradition of the Easter Bunny is also related to pre-Christian spring fertility rites. The origins seem to be connected to the Teutonic deity Eostra, goddess of spring and fertility, whose symbol was the rabbit, because of its high reproductive rate. So, it appears that the precursor of the English Easter bunny may well have been the ‘Osterhase’ or Easter hare (although ‘hase’ can also translate as bunny or rabbit) the first stories of which appeared in the late 17th century in Germany. German immigrants took these legends of egg-laying rabbits hiding eggs in gardens to Pennsylvania with them and before long the whole nest, basket, egg-hunt rituals had become part of Easter, not only in Europe but in the New World too.
Should our Prime Minister be concerning herself with this? She may well, in her own words be ‘not only a vicar’s daughter – a member of the National Trust as well’, but in all honesty she would probably be better advised to keep out of such a ridiculous media furore, especially whilst visiting a country whose own religion not only persecutes Christians but certain other Muslims too. According to David Tollerton, a lecturer in theology and religion at Exeter University, quoted in The Guardian on Tuesday, “the supposed secularisation of chocolate egg hunts” is a minor issue for the Church of England at the present time. That must surely be true for the rest of the country as well, whether they be Christian, Muslim, atheist or agnostic.
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