The History of Easter

Magical bunnies and vast quantities of chocolate spring to many a mind when the word ‘Easter’ is uttered. But have you stopped and wondered where this holiday and its scrumptious traditions arose from? Well the team hear at Gifts2TheDoor decided to do some investigating!

We all know the story of Jesus being hung on a cross and then resurrected thus giving us Easter, but where do the traditions surrounding this holiday come from?

Easter eggs, for one, do not owe their origins to Christianity and initially the celebration of Easter itself and the giving of Easter gifts had no ties to Christianity either. Both Easter and the Easter Egg reveals a much earlier association with pagan ritual and in particular, the pagan rites of spring, dating back into pre history. The Egg, a symbol of fertility and re-birth, has been associated with the giving of Easter eggs. Another belief is that the egg is a symbol of the stone blocking the Sepulchre being 'rolled' away. 

In the very beginning Easter Eggs were actual eggs that had been decorated, a tradition that still remains in certain corners of the world. However, the end of the 17th century saw the beginnings of manufactured eggs made from an assortment of materials. These were then purchased and passed on as an Easter gift. As time wore on, and people got a bit more generous, these eggs developed into cardboard eggs stuffed with gifts and lavishly decorated. The 19th century gave birth to the ultimate Easter egg, entitled Faberge Eggs. Absolutely dripping with jewels and crafted by a very talented French jeweller, they were the Easter egg to be seen with!

Both Germany and France claim to have created the first chocolate Easter egg however the trend was soon imitated all over the globe. Originally Easter eggs were fashioned to be solid, yummy indeed, however possibly not the most cost efficient choice. So business savvy Easter egg makers decided to make them hollow; they still looked exactly the same, but far cheaper to produce.

Hello 19th Century; where the discovery of the modern chocolate making process and improved mass manufacturing methods meant that Chocolate Easter Egg was becoming the Easter Gift to go, especially around Europe. However by the time the swinging sixties were upon us, there was no looking back, and the chocolate Easter egg was standard worldwide.