This is why we eat chocolate eggs at Easter time

The sun is making a more permanent appearance, flowers are blossoming and the shops are stocked to the brim with Easter eggs, which can only mean spring has well and truly sprung.

And as the Easter weekend is now nearly upon us, with Easter Sunday falling on 4 April in 2021, people across the UK are preparing to tuck into a plethora of chocolate treats.

Consuming as many chocolate eggs as we can has become the norm at this time of year - but have you ever wondered where exactly the tradition comes from?

Here is everything you need to know about the origins of the Easter egg.

Why do we have Easter eggs?

People haven’t always devoured chocolate eggs at Easter time.

In fact, eating normal eggs wasn’t permitted by church leaders during Holy Week, which is the name given to the days leading up to Easter.

Instead, any eggs laid by hens were saved and decorated for children as gifts.

It is thought that this tradition has roots in Paganism. Eggs symbolise new life, and often appeared in pagan festivals celebrating spring.

And for Christians, the egg symbolises the moment in the Bible when Jesus is resurrected after his crucifixion.

As the tradition evolved over the centuries, chocolate versions of eggs became more popular as gifts for children than real eggs - for obvious reasons.