History of Easter chocolates

                                                                                         

Easter is known as the most sacred Christian holiday of the year. It is, but has another twist to it. That twist is of a massive money making industry that, to this day, is the second highest top selling candy holiday of the year at $1.9 billion. (the first is not Valentines Day- with $1.4 billion in sales, but Halloween at $2 billion per year). What is the story behind all of this Easter candy tradition?

It goes back to the pagan belief that eggs produced fertility and re-birth. By the 1800’s, Christians had adopted the symbol of the egg as part of the Easter festivities, representing the resurrection (or re-birth) of Christ following His crucifixion.

Where did the chocolate version of the egg come in? It all started with Hot Cross buns, at one time banned by the Queen. In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I forbid these present day delicacies since it was associated with Catholicism. She did, however, allow them to be consumed at Easter time. Nevertheless, Hot Cross buns were all the rage in Europe during the 1800’s – it was especially popular among the poor European countries. During this time, chocolatiers were trying to determine how best to market their wares. The buns were their greatest competition! Chocolate makers wished to find their way into the hearts of the low class and simultaneously the high-class societies. Germany and France were the first to introduce the solid chocolate Easter egg. It spread quickly throughout Europe and it did not take long for this chocolate lovers’ delight to spread to the western world. These eggs were at first solid. The chocolate’s texture was much different that it is today, therefore, much more difficult to work with. Once machines came into the equation, it was easier and more beneficial for the companies to hollow out their eggs.

By the 1960’s, the Easter egg was well recognized and had become quite customary. From there it was just a matter of time before they created the chocolate birds and other assorted spring and Easter symbols such as the Easter bunny. Currently, the numbers for sales of Easter bunnies alone have reached an astounding ninety-million world wide per year worldwide!

How did the Easter bunny get involved in a Christian holiday? The answer goes all the way back to the very early converts. The missionaries in the beginning of Christianity knew that Christian lives were in danger, as they were believed to be heretics. Consequently, missionaries and Christians coincided the celebration of their holy days with the pagan festivals that were all ready in existence.

In the case of Easter, the celebration took place concurrent to the pagan festival of “Eastre”. Eastre was the Anglo-Saxons goddess of offspring and springtime. She was worshipped in the earthly symbol of….you guessed it, the rabbit. At some point, the spelling of Eastre was changed to Easter.

And there you have it, the origin of chocolate Easter eggs, bunnies, and all of those marvelous chocolate forms that we chocoholics cannot live without! Apparently, especially at Easter!

About the author:

http://nostalgic-candy.net

Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com