Ever wondered why we celebrate Easter with a chocolate egg? Well, from earliest times the egg appears to have signified rebirth and resurrection. The Egyptians buried eggs in their tombs. The Greeks placed eggs on top of graves. The ancient Greeks, Persians and Chinese gave eggs as gifts at their spring festivals.

In addition, the ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a festival commemorating their goddess, “Eastre” through her earthly symbol the rabbit. When the early missionaries converted the Saxons to Christianity, the holiday was merged with the pagan celebration, and became know as “Easter.”

At this time, the meaning of Easter was changed to reflect its new Christian orientation, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, sadly few really understand the true meaning of Easter and it has become a commericalised money making extravaganza for the chocolate companies!

Some chocolatey Easter egg facts:

• The first chocolate Easter egg was produced in 1873 by Fry’s.
• Figures from the British Retail Consortium predicted £520m would be spent on 80 million eggs over Easter.
• The British will, on average, be enjoying over 3.5 eggs each during the Easter weekend alone.
• The UK are the biggest chocoholics in Europe, munching through an average 10 kilograms per year, or 25% of all the chocolate eaten across Europe.
• Irish consumers will fork out an estimated $30 million Euros on six million Easter eggs.
• Worldwide, the Cadbury’s Creme Egg is the most popular variety, with more than 300 million being made each year.

Now for the good news! Research shows chocolate may not be as bad for our health as we once thought. Small amounts may even be good for us.

• The cocoa bean, a major component of chocolate, is a good source of naturally occurring plant compounds called flavonoids.
• Flavonoids act as antioxidant, which help mop up cell damaging free radicals.
• However, it’s worth bearing in mind that plain chocolate is a richer source of flavonoids than milk or white chocolate.
• Chocolate is a reasonable source of some nutrients, including calcium and magnesium.
• You would, however need to eat large amounts to make any significant contribution to your health -a  better choice would be to get these nutrients from foods such as skimmed milk or diet yogurt.

You may want to find out about Britain’s first ever healthy chocolate egg.

Remember, all things in moderation; don’t over-indulge. Have a great holiday, remember the real meaning of Easter and enjoy that little bit of chocolate as you do so!