10 things about...easter eggs
You can also see: 10 things about...ice cream, easter eggs, pigs, turkeys, beavers, nettles, marshmallows, pumpkins.
At least 10 things you might not know (and maybe one or two made-up “facts”)
- The first mass-produced chocolate Easter egg was created by Fry's of Bristol in 1873.
The most popular chocolate egg in the world today is Cadbury's Creme Egg, which first went on sale in 1971. Did you know that If all the Creme Eggs made in a year were piled on top of each other, it would be ten times higher than Mount Everest!
- An egg can symbolise new life, rebirth and fertility in many cultures. The egg connection with Easter seems to stem from a pagan celebration of spring in the northern hemisphere. Saxons celebrated the return of spring with a festival commemorating goddess Eostre through her earthly symbol, the hare!
- According to “research”, when it comes to eating chocolate bunnies, 76% of people prefer to eat the ears first.
- A virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke or feature in a film, CD, DVD, computer program, web page, video game or even a book.
- The (non-veggie) Guinness Book of Records holder for the largest Easter egg ever made is Guylian, the Belgian chocolate manufacturers, who constructed an egg with 1,950 kg of chocolate . The egg measured 8.32 metres high and took twenty-six workers 525 hours to build it.
£280 million was spent on Easter eggs in the UK on the 4 days leading up to Easter 2008.
- Dietians warn that eating five large Easter eggs (the average given to most children) plus the bars included with them in one day, could see youngsters doubling their recommended calorie intake for a whole week!
- During the early 1880s, Easter eggs substituted for birth certificates in some parts of Germany. An egg was dyed a solid colour, then a design, which included the recipient’s name and birth date, was etched into the shell with a needle or sharp tool. Such Easter eggs were honoured in law courts as evidence of identity and age.
- Easter’s most valuable eggs were hand crafted in the 1880s by renowned goldsmith Peter Faberge, they were commissioned by the Czar of Russia as gifts for his wife. A diamond encrusted Faberge egg was sold at auction in 2007 for £9 million!
- Easter eggs for 2009 went on sale in most supermarkets before their Christmas decorations had been taken down.
Did you spot the 'untruths'? Let us know which fact you think is false.
Think you can come up with something better?! Get creative and make up one of your own to replace it.
We'll give everyone who enters a "Love Us, Not Eat Us" animal window sticker and put the best online. Write to education@vegsoc.org (don't forget to include your name and address if you would like a window sticker!)
You can also see: 10 things about...ice cream, easter eggs, pigs, turkeys, beavers, nettles, marshmallows, pumpkins.