An Easter egg hunt for kids has snowballed into a major row about the place of Christianity in modern Britain, and the Prime Minister's even become involved.
It started when John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, launched into an extraordinary attack on Cadbury and The National Trust for what he deemed the airbrushing of the word ‘Easter’ from their annual Easter egg hunts. The events take place at various locations across the country and thousands of children participate in them. The chocolate manufacturer sponsors the hunts.
The Archbishop described a perceived lack of religious reverence in the children’s event as ‘spitting on the grave’ of Cadbury’s Quaker founders.
He said: ‘If people visited Birmingham today in the Cadbury World they will discover how Cadbury's Christian faith influenced his industrial output. He built houses for all his workers, he built a church, he made provision for schools. It is obvious that for him Jesus and justice were two sides of the one coin. To drop Easter from Cadbury's Easter Egg Hunt in my book is tantamount to spitting on the grave of Cadbury.’
It’s worth pointing out that the word ‘Easter’ is clearly visible on all of the branding, but it is not expressly stated as a Christian festival. On the National Trust website, for example, it says: ‘Join us over the Easter holidays to run through muddy woodlands, around mystical lakes and along nature trails on a Cadbury Egg Hunt.’
Nevertheless, it has snowballed into a national news story.
Incredibly, Prime Minister Theresa May has even commented on it while in Amman, Jordan, where she has been discussing the fight against ISIS and defending UK-Saudi ties. “I’m not just a vicar’s daughter, I’m a member of the National Trust as well,” she said about Egg-gate. “I think the stance they have taken is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know what they are thinking about frankly.’
She added: ‘Easter's very important. It's important to me. It's a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world. So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous.’
UKIP MEP and LBC rent-a-gob Nigel Farage has weighed in, saying: ‘As I have said before, we must defend our Judeo-Christian culture and that means Easter.’ What Judaism and Christianity have to do with hiding chocolate eggs is unclear.
Cadbury said they wanted Christians and non-Christians alike to feel they were able to participate in the event. A spokesperson for the company said: ‘We invite people from all faiths and none to enjoy our seasonal treats.’
Blue passports, a diplomatic disaster with Spain and chocolate eggs - and it’s only Tuesday.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.