Easter campaign launches as Easter bunny closes in on Jesus

Churches in the UK are planning to distribute more than quarter of a million Easter stories inside Easter eggs this year as part of a national campaign to plug a gap in knowledge about the religious festival.

Despite Easter being one of the most important occasions in the Christian calendar, recent surveys show that nearly half the population does not associate Jesus with Easter, placing him fourth in relevance behind Easter eggs, hot cross buns and the Bank Holiday. More worrying is news that Jesus is only 6 points ahead of the Easter Bunny in relevance.

Across England, Scotland and Wales people younger than 24 are the least likely to connect Jesus with Easter. They are also the group which is less likely to believe in the resurrection. However, nearly 70% of those aged fifty and over are clear that Jesus is connected to Easter.

The Real Easter Egg 2018 campaign is designed to reverse the trend among young people by encouraging people to give them a Real Easter Egg, which comes with a copy of the Easter story in the box. 

The congregation of Greyfriars Kirk, in Edinburgh, helped kick off the campaign. Greyfriars is one of the city’s most famous Kirks and welcomes tens of thousands of tourists a year.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, David Marshall, from The Meaningful Chocolate Company, said; "It was quite a surprise to discover that nearly 60% of under 24 year olds do not connect Jesus with Easter. There's an opportunity for those over 50 to buy a Real Easter Egg and pass on knowledge of the festival to younger parents and grandchildren. We hope to distribute 250,000 stories with our eggs and reach more than a million people."

The congregation of St Cuthbert’s Catholic Church, in Edinburgh, helped kick off the campaign and have placed their order for eggs already.

Helen Godfrey, from the Mothers' Union in Edinburgh, said; "I have bought these eggs for my own grandchildren. It is so important that we share and celebrate the Easter story with younger generations."

Rachel Farey, Manager of One World Shop, which stocks The Real Easter Egg, said; “We are delighted to be stocking The Real Easter Egg. We stock hundreds of Fairtrade products and it is good to have an Easter Egg which reflects the season fully.”

Where to buy

The Real Easter Egg is available from our shop and in larger branches of Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, ASDA and independent shops and online retailers.

About the Real Easter Egg
Out of the 80 million chocolate Easter eggs sold each year in the UK, The Real Easter Egg is the first and only Fairtrade chocolate Easter egg with a copy of the Easter story in the box. Launched in 2010, more than a million Real Easter Eggs have been sold with 750,000 of these sent through the post directly to churches and schools. The success of The Real Easter Egg has meant that the production of Fairtrade chocolate has moved to the UK. Over £250,000 has been raised from sales for charitable causes.