And so the Sacrament of the Chocolate Egg is Desecrated

[Rhiannon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39487307

You couldn't make it up.

Cadbury was a Quaker. They don't do Easter.

The NT site has loads of references to Easter, it's just that they have a marketing agreement with Cadbury who position their eggs as 'Cadbury Eggs' .

'Cadbury Creme Eggs' (an abomination before the Lord and everyone besides but that's another story) have been around for years - this marketing thingy just drops the 'creme' as it applies to plain chocolate eggs too.

I don't really remember the sacramental significance of cheap chocolate ovoids from my days as a believer. Still, the church fancies looking ridiculous once again, with the help of Mrs May.

[floo]

It is all a bit silly.

[Anchorman]

No, it's deadly serious. I mean the way things are going, you'll soon need a microscope to see the blasted things - the great shrinking egg scandal. Oh - you mean dropping 'Easter' from the telly ad? Nah - not bothered, really.

[Harrowby Hall]

Aren't they sold all the year round anyway?

[Rhiannon]

Aren't they sold all the year round anyway?

Some are, some aren't I think.

Cadbury chocolate is horrible. I'd rather go on an Easter gruel hunt.

[Rhiannon]

http://newsthump.com/2017/04/04/theresa-may-furious-about-easter-eggs-while-visiting-country-where-blasphemers-are-beheaded/

[ad_orientem]

'Cadbury Creme Eggs' (an abomination before the Lord and everyone besides but that's another story) have been around for years

Nothing wrong with Cadbury's Creme Eggs. I used to love those as a kid.

Sweets. Don't make em like they used to. Buying penny sweets for a pound from the corner shop. 25 Refreshers and 50 fizzy cola bottles in a paper bag. Stuffing a few extra sweets in your pockets while the shopkeeper wasn't looking.

I'm reminiscing....

[floo]

Some are, some aren't I think.

Cadbury chocolate is horrible. I'd rather go on an Easter gruel hunt.

I like Cadbury's chocolate better than any other make.

[Rhiannon]

I like Cadbury's chocolate better than any other make.

I'm a chocolate snob. Green and Black's or Lindt Hazelnut.

[floo]

I'm a chocolate snob. Green and Black's or Lindt Hazelnut.

My husband and middle daughter enjoy Green and Blacks.

[wigginhall]

It is very funny.  I blame the EU - they hate the English, and they're all Muslims and Jews anyway, so they're trying to spoil Easter for us out of PLICKLE KERREKNESS.   Say no to the EU, and yes, to English Easter eggs, with a St George's cross on them.

[floo]

It is very funny.  I blame the EU - they hate the English, and they're all Muslims and Jews anyway, so they're trying to spoil Easter for us out of PLICKLE KERREKNESS.   Say no to the EU, and yes, to English Easter eggs, with a St George's cross on them.

I hope you are joking?

[Humph Warden Bennett]

FTR on Easter Sunday we eat hard boiled eggs, which have been painted red with a white cross painted over the red(obviously we use water colour paint, not emulsion). This is purely a tradition, if anybody wants a NT reference they will be disappointed.

[Nearly Sane]

Obviously when you are in Saudi Arabia trying to sell arms to kill people, the religious persecution that comes to mind is this. Moronic, and at the same time vile.

[ProfessorDavey]

It is all a bit silly.

Indeed. Because:

1. Easter is named after a pagan goddess of spring and the derivation of the name has nothing whatsoever to do with the death and purported resurrection of Jesus.

2. Cadbury was a Quaker and wouldn't have celebrated Easter as a Christian festival.

3. The world moves on - most people enjoy Easter, but do so as a celebration of Spring and Easter eggs, notion of Easter bunnies etc is simply a reflection of the obviousness in northern Europe of the relevance of the festival to spring, while its reliance to a specific religion belief is for a tiny minority (not dismissing the strength of their convictions, merely pointing out that they are perhaps 5% of the population.

4. Commercial and marketing opportunities are a big deal for commercial organisations (Cadbury's) and third sector organisations (the National Trust).

Nothing to see here, move along please, and (to Semtamu et al) develop a sense of perspective and reality.

Noting too that May waded in on the latest faux 'christian persecution' outrage while bigging up a country that really does persecution on the basis of belief, and most notably non belief, namely Saudi Arabia.

[Gordon]

I'd have thought that a senior Cof E cleric highlighting the eggs aspect of this holiday as he did, given its pagan origins, is a prime example of feet-shooting. I'd imagine most Christians know that, and just like the mid-winter festival that shall not be named so early in the calendar year, Easter isn't exclusively theirs.

[ProfessorDavey]

I'd have thought that a senior Cof E cleric highlighting the eggs aspect of this holiday as he did, given its pagan origins, is a prime example of feet-shooting. I'd imagine most Christians know that, and just like the mid-winter festival that shall not be named so early in the calendar year, Easter isn't exclusively theirs.

Indeed - at least they re-named Christmas to give it a name with Christian origins. For Easter they retained a name that has everything to do with its pagan spring origins and absolutely zero to do with the Christian meaning of Easter.

[Rhiannon]

Eggs were definitely a pagan fertility symbol, although they have also been a Christian representation of the resurrection for well over a thousand years. Chocolate eggs made by Cadbury though? Hardly.

As an aside, the origins of the Easter bunny are obscure too, although I think they are Germanic. One theory is that in the past people knew that hares nested on the ground and they also found nests with the eggs of ground-nesting birds in the fields, and they decided that hares laid eggs, although personally I think people then were too connected to nature to believe that. One thing that is almost certain though is that there was never a belief that a goddess called Eostre had the hare as her sacred animal, lovely though the idea is. In fact the evidence for a belief in Eostre herself is shaky, although not disproven. I tend to use the term Ostara for the spring equinox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ēostre

[Rhiannon]

I'm surprised at Sentamu, who is usually one of the CofE's good eggs. (sorry) He can't complain about others not bothering to understand his beliefs when he hasn't bothered to get to grips with the basics of Quakerism.

[Robbie]

I too was surprised Rhiannon & I like Sentamu. However the Quakers, though they don't or didn't celebrate Easter or CHristmas, knew that other Christian groups did and were not judgemental about them. The Society of Friends were persecuted in their early days and have never disparaged any other beliefs. They are the most accepting people and if a particular belief was important to fellow Christians, they respected that. So he may be right (though, like you, I think it most likely he hadn't checked up on Quaker traditions).

Theresa May was probably asked for comment aobut the Easter egg business & gave her opinion. She is a vicar's daughter and a patron of the National Trust so would be one of the first to be asked.

Regarding her going to Saudi, don't they all do that? Even the Obamas did. Unless we officially break off relations and impose sanctions our Prime Minister has to maintain diplomatic relations. She didn't cover her hair and said she wanted Saudi women to see that a woman can achieve and reach high position.  I'm not defending going to Saudi,personally would hate to go there!  But I think she had no choice,especially as other politicians(from all over the world), prominent business people & royals keep on cordial terms with the Saudis.

[wigginhall]

I looked in the supermarket, and a lot of Easter eggs didn't say 'Easter' at all, but stuff like 'chocolate eggs'.   I guess that a lot of kids just want chocolate, and Easter is a distraction.   

I can see why Mrs May got into this, as she is probably trying to distract people from Brexit and other stuff, but why Sentamu?   Is he now going to admonish Lindt for making a Gold Milk Chocolate Bunny without talking about the life, death and resurrection of Christ?   I don't get it.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

I looked in the supermarket, and a lot of Easter eggs didn't say 'Easter' at all, but stuff like 'chocolate eggs'.   I guess that a lot of kids just want chocolate, and Easter is a distraction.   

I think the point is is that traditions don't die out fast unless helped on their way.

[wigginhall]

I'm not sure why chocolate manufacturers are supposed to be helping Christianity. 

[Robbie]

They aren't really but in my lifetime, kids have always had chocolate eggs at Easter. I remember little ones being given out in church at Easter!

[wigginhall]

They aren't really but in my lifetime, kids have always had chocolate eggs at Easter. I remember little ones being given out in church at Easter!

Sure, but Sentamu seems to be objecting that a chocolate firm hasn't got 'Easter' on its publicity material.  In fact, it does, but I was just saying that many firms sell 'chocolate eggs'.   Maybe Sentamu has a hit-list of them, and he is working his way through them.  I suppose if you want to look ridiculous, it's your right.