Easter

Easter 2021

Chocolate eggs, the Easter Bunny, Hot Cross Buns, there are many traditions around Easter. This year, we’d like to invite you to start a new one: only buying higher welfare products.

Look for the RSPCA Assured logo when you shop

When you shop for meat, fish, eggs and dairy products with the RSPCA Assured logo, you can be sure you’re supporting farmers who have a passion for farm animal welfare. In order to be RSPCA Assured, farms must adhere

to our strict standards and ensure that animals have a better standard of life and are raised to higher welfare standards.

What day in April is Easter? 

In 2021, Easter Sunday is on 4 April. 

What dates are Easter holidays 2021?

This year the Easter holidays begin on Saturday 3 April. Schools break up on Friday 3 April and go back on Monday 19 April 2020.

What determines when Easter is each year?

Unlike other festivals like Christmas and Halloween, the date of Easter Sunday moves every year and can fall anywhere between 22 March and 25 April. The exact date for Easter Sunday is based on a system of calculations. Precisely, Easter is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox is normally on 20 or 21 of March when the sun crosses over the celestial equator going north, the start of spring.

What is Easter and why do we celebrate it?

Traditionally, Easter is the day when many Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But further back than this, the spring celebration was a pagan festival. 

Why bunnies? Bunnies are a carryover from the pagan festival of Eostre, a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. And the idea of giving eggs and exchanging eggs is a custom celebrated in many cultures over the centuries.

Why do we call Easter Easter?

The pagan goddess, Eostre whose celebration was held at the beginning of spring also gave us the name of the modern festival, Easter.

Why we celebrate Easter with eggs?

Eggs are a symbol of spring since they represent birth and new life. The decorating of eggs probably comes from the idea that, during Lent, they were forbidden so people would paint them to mark the end of the period of fasting and then eat them at Easter to celebrate.

This Easter, you have the opportunity to make a new start and have a positive effect on farm animal welfare. When you buy RSPCA Assured eggs, you’re making a difference by supporting farms and farmers who truly care for egg-laying hen welfare.

Why do we have hot cross buns at Easter? 

Baking sweet buns as gifts at the start of spring is a tradition which predates Christianity. The addition of the cross on top though was most probably added when Easter became a Christian festival. If you’re interested in doing some festive baking yourself, why not give our hot cross buns recipe a go?

What else do people bake at Easter? 

Another baking tradition around Easter is the Simnel Cake. This is a moist, light fruit cake covered in a layer of marzipan. It is traditionally topped with eleven marzipan balls to represent the eleven disciples of Jesus Christ (not including Judas). 

If that sounds a bit extravagant or too symbolic for you, but you still want to unleash your inner-baker, you could give our chocolate and coconut cupcakes recipe a try. You don’t need to make eleven of them; any number will do fine.

Other egg recipes to try this Easter

Just in case you don’t feel like baking this Easter, we’ve got a few savoury recipes for you too, all using RSPCA Assured eggs. For breakfast, you could cook up some tasty French toast, or even treat yourself to Eggs Benedict. 

It’s traditional to eat fish on Good Friday, so why not get some RSPCA Assured smoked salmon and make scrambled eggs and smoked salmon? If you prefer a sweet breakfast, you could always make pancakes, try our recipe for traditional, American or Japanese ones.

Laying hen welfare

However you choose to celebrate Easter, we hope you choose to make the higher welfare choice and choose RSPCA Assured free-range eggs when you shop. To find supermarkets near you the stock RSPCA Assured free-range eggs, see our where to buy page. And if your local supermarket does stock them, let them know with our Lobby your supermarket tool. You can also use it to let them know about any other RSPCA Assured products you’d like to see on their shelves.

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