Easter isn’t just about chocolate. It’s about the celebration of the last week of Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection following Lent; 40 days of penance and fasting. For Christians, all over the world, Easter symbolises the dawn of a new life.

The origin of Easter dates to the pagan festival “Ishtar” pronounced “Easter” when Anglo-Saxons honoured Eostre, goddess of spring and fertility, also known as Ostara the goddess of the dawn and a bringer of light. At the feast of Eostre  an ox was sacrificed  and its crossed horns carved into the bread became a symbol of the season and this is how the hot cross bun originated (the word ‘bun’ being the Saxon word ‘boun’ meaning ‘sacred ox’).

If you are wondering where the Easter bunny fits into all this there are several different theories. One theory being that in pagan tradition, Eostre’s animal symbol is that of a rabbit. Also known for their energetic breeding symbolising fertility.

Another theory is that the Easter Bunny or Easter Hare originates from German Lutherans. At the start of the season of Eastertide, the “Easter Hare” originally played the role of a judge, assessing children’s behaviour seeing if they were good or disobedient.

If your children have been little angels this holiday. Why not get the Easter Bunny to pick up a Frog Bike from us to deliver to them. That way once they have eaten their choccies they can burn it all off on their new bicycles.

We have recently become an authorised stockist of these egg-cellent kids’ bikes. Designed with the child in mind; they have lighter frames, shorter cranks and small drop handlebars. This is to ensure cycling is a positive experience for younger riders. Check out our Frog page for more information or pop into our showroom.

Now onto the chocolate egg. In England the first chocolate Easter eggs were made by Fry’s of Bristol in 1873. John Cadbury was already making ‘French eating’ Chocolate since 1842. Though it was not until 1875 that the first Cadbury Easter eggs were made. These were made of dark chocolate with plain shells enhanced by chocolate piping and marzipan flowers. 1905 saw the launch of the famous Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate Easter egg which established them as seasonal best sellers. These were often filled with sweets and given to children at Easter.

In 1883 Faberge produced their first Gold Eggs eggs. They were made as an Easter gift for the Empress Marie of Russia from her husband, Tsar Alexander III. It featured a small gold egg in an outside shell of platinum and enamel. It’s possible they made as many as 69 of which 57 survive today.

If you’re feeling as generous as Tsar Alexander III and want to treat your other half to an electric bike for their Easter Gift, check out our range online or visit our showroom in Basingstoke.

We do still have a couple of ebikes left in our Spring Sale, so there is no reason for you to miss out on cycling in the sunshine.

I’ve just checked my weather app and it looks like we are in for a gloriously sunny Easter with highs of 20 degrees. So treat yourself and your whole family to new bikes this Easter, and enjoy the outdoors.

We will be open as usual over the Easter period; Friday & Saturday 10 am – 4 pm Sunday & Monday Closed. If you require an appointment outside those hours or days please call us and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

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