Kirsty Page reveals ten Easter eggs facts you never knew - prepare to be surprised!
Think you know your Easter eggs from your elbow? Think again. Here are ten egg-cellent things you never knew about Easter eggs, courtesy of organic food retailer goodnessdirect.co.uk:
Fact 1.
80 million chocolate Easter eggs are sold each year. This accounts for 10% of Britain’s annual spending on chocolate!
Fact 2.
Eating five Easter eggs, the average given to most children, plus the bars included, could see youngsters double their recommended calorie intake for a week.
Fact 3.
The tradition of giving eggs at Easter has been traced back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, who saw the egg as a symbol of life.
Fact 4.
Medieval Easter eggs were boiled with onions to give them a golden sheen. Edward I, however, went one better and in 1290 he ordered 450 eggs to be covered in gold leaf and given as Easter gifts.
Fact 5.
In medieval times, a festival of egg throwing was held in church. The priest would throw a hardboiled egg to one of the choirboys and it would then be tossed from one boy to another. Whoever held the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner.
Fact 6.
The first chocolate Easter egg was produced in 1873 by Fry’s. Before this, people would give hollow cardboard eggs, filled with gifts.
Fact 7.
John Cadbury soon followed suit and made his first Cadbury Easter egg in 1875. By 1892 the company was producing 19 different lines, all made from dark chocolate.
Fact 8.
The famous ‘crocodile’ finish that you see on Easter eggs came from Germany and was originally designed to cover up any minor imperfections in the chocolate. And we thought it was just to make it look pretty!
Fact 9.
In England, crowds still gather to watch Egg rolling on Easter Sunday. This tradition goes back hundreds of years and the objective is to see which egg can go furthest without breaking. The world’s most famous egg rolling takes place on the White House lawn on Easter Monday. In 2009, the Obamas hosted their first White House Easter egg roll with the theme ‘Let’s go play’ which was meant to encourage young people to lead healthy, active lives.
Fact 10.
The world’s largest Easter egg was made by the Belgian chocolate producer, Guyilan, in 2005. The egg measured 8.3m high and took 26 craftsmen 525 hours to build. 1950kg of chocolate was used and the egg was displayed in the city of St. Niklass in Belgium.
So there we have it – ten fun facts about Easter Eggs! Do you have any Easter traditions of your own? Let us know using the comments box below!
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