Why Chocolate Is So Popular On Easter

When you are buying Easter treats for the baskets of your loved ones this year, it's a safe bet that chocolate will have a place of pride amongst the contents. Whether you opt for chocolate eggs or the classic molded bunny, chocolate has inescapable ties to Easter. Just as the symbolism of love came to tie chocolate to Valentine's Day, so do the sweet treats of Easter have connections to past traditions. The significance of lamb on the Easter dinner table is well-known — for many Christians, it has to do with the rebirth of "the Lamb of God" — but you may not realize that Easter chocolate came about due to another classic icon of this holiday: the egg.

Eggs, widely understood as a symbol of rebirth and fecundity, were associated with the rites of spring well before the dawn of Christianity. Early Christians adopted the pagan tradition as a token of Christ's rebirth. Exchanging eggs during the pre-Easter observance of Lent was a friendly way to share excitement, then gave way to gifting sugar or candy eggs, and/or chicken eggs hollowed out and filled with sweet treats. When French and German confectioners of the 1800s developed the technology to make chocolate Easter eggs, the world soon fell in love with this delicious spin on celebrating Easter.

Nowadays, it is much easier to manufacture Easter chocolate than in the 19th century and molded chocolate isn't such a novelty. We've also moved on from just chocolate eggs: no fewer than 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced globally each year! You'll also notice molded chocolate chicks, ducks, and crosses to celebrate the season. What fuels our ongoing obsession with eating chocolate in all forms during this time of year? One theory is the preceding observation of Lent, a 40-day period during which observant Christians sacrifice special indulgences in reverence to the enormity of Jesus's suffering and death. Lots of Christians give up chocolate for Lent, meaning that Easter is the first opportunity they have to eat chocolate in over a month.

However, even secular consumers celebrate Easter with chocolate. Perhaps, as in all things, the simplest explanation is the correct one: we enjoy an excuse to eat chocolate because it tastes good. There are many types of chocolate, all with their own uses, so feel free to walk away from the cheap, chalky Easter bunnies and savor something indulgent this year. How about some spicy cinnamon-cayenne dark chocolate bars, or viral Dubai chocolate stuffed with pistachio and shredded phyllo? Break out of the mold and enjoy some delicious chocolate for Easter, no matter what the reason.