How did we come to the point where we have chocolate eggs for Easter?
Chocolate Easter eggs date back to the early 19th century. [1] The mass-production of hollow chocolate eggs started in the 1870s. [1]
The origins of the chocolate Easter egg can be traced back to Germany in the 17th century [2]. The tradition of giving chocolate eggs to children who had been well-behaved was established by the Easter Bunny, known as the “Osterhase" [2]. The egg was chosen because it was a potent symbol of fertility, and the bunny because it was associated with the rising sun [1, 2]. The tradition of giving chocolate eggs as a symbol of good luck and new life was adopted by German immigrants and their descendants [3]. The chocolate eggs were first made of sugar and pastry in the mid-1800s [3]. Handmade chocolate eggs date back to the early 19th century [2]. Advances in manufacturing led to the mass-production of hollow chocolate eggs in the 1870s by J. S. Fry & Sons, Ltd. and Cadbury [2].