Fun Facts: Easter

With Easter just around the corner, here are few interesting and fun Easter facts for you to share…

• The first chocolate egg in the UK was produced in 1873 by Fry’s of Bristol.

• The biggest chocolate egg to date was made in Italy in 2011. It was 10.39m in height and weighed 7,200 kg.

• The name Easter comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who is the symbol of light and the dawn.

• 76% of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first. Do you?

• The custom of giving eggs at Easter has been traced back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, for whom the egg was a symbol of life.

• Sales at Easter make up 10% of UK chocolate spending for the whole year.

• Hot cross buns used to be taken on ships by sailors as they were thought to protect against shipwreck.

• The world’s most popular egg-shaped chocolate is the Cadbury’s Creme Egg.

• Hot cross buns were among the earliest Easter treats, made by European monks and given to the poor during Lent.

• The traditional act of painting eggs is called Pysanka.