Forget the “war on Christmas;” now Cadbury, the chocolate manufacturer, has allegedly taken on Easter, and the Church of England is fighting back.
The Telegraph reports,
The Church of England has accused the National Trust of “airbrushing faith” after it dropped the word “Easter” from its annual Easter egg hunt.
The annual event, which sees hundreds of thousands of children search for chocolate eggs at National Trust properties, has been rebranded to exclude Easter for the first time in 10 years.
In previous years it has been called an “Easter Egg Trail”, however this year it has been renamed the “Great British Egg Hunt”.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend John Sentamu, is quoted by the Telegraph, accusing Cadbury of “spitting on the grave” of the company’s founder.
“The Cadburys were Great Quaker industrialists. 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.”
The archbishop is backed by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. PM Theresa May, the daughter of a clergyman, called the branding decision “absolutely ridiculous,” while Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said emphatically that he would be buying his grandson “an Easter egg.”
The National Trust denies that it is trying to downplay Easter, and blamed Cadbury for the controversy:
A spokesman said: “The National Trust is in no way downplaying the significance of Easter, which is why we put on a huge number of events, activities and walks to bring families together at this time of year. We work closely with Cadbury, who are responsible for the branding and wording of our egg hunt campaign.”
Cadbury responded,
“Each year, our Easter campaigns have a different name and this year our seasonal campaign is called the ‘Cadbury’s Great British Egg Hunt’.
“It is clear to see that within our communications and marketing we clearly state the word Easter and include it in a number of promotional materials, including our website, where we do also promote our partnership with National Trust at this seasonal time of year. We invite people from all faiths and none to enjoy our seasonal treats, which can be found around Easter time.”
Read more at the Telegraph.
Photo: Cadbury’s “Creme Egg season” runs from January through April, according to the company’s website.