Join the Real Easter Egg campaign

With just more than a week to go to the Easter weekend, people around the UK are being urged to continue to support The Real Easter Egg campaign. The aim of the campaign is to distribute a quarter of a million eggs along with the Easter message.

Unlike other eggs available on the high street, The Real Easter Egg reminds people about the real reason Easter takes place every year - to mark the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What's more, the eggs are still the first and only Fairtrade chocolate Easter egg with a copy of the Easter story in the box.

The Diocesan Bishop for The Church of England in Lancashire, Rt Rev Julian Henderson, has thrown his support behind the promotion.

Bishop Julian, who is the Bishop of Blackburn, was recently asked by The Meaningful Chocolate Company (producers of The Real Easter Egg) to back the product in their national release.

He said: "The Real Easter Egg is a simple and effective way to share the essentials of our Christian faith, while supporting Fairtrade and the charities involved. As Easter approaches, I encourage people to buy one as a gift for someone who will not know why Christians believe that Jesus is alive.

"There is clear evidence of less familiarity with the Easter story amongst young parents and children these days. So, we have a responsibility to pass the message of Easter to the next generation and The Real Easter Eggs are a creative way to do this."

David Marshall of The Meaningful Chocolate Company, added: "Recent research has told us nearly 60% of under 24s do not connect Jesus with Easter.

"So there's an opportunity for those who over 50 to buy a Real Easter Egg and pass on knowledge of the festival to younger parents and grandchildren. We hope to distribute 250,000 stories with our eggs this year and reach more than a million people."

The Real Easter Egg is available from www.realeasteregg.co.uk and in larger branches of Tesco, ASDA, Waitrose, Morrisons and independent retailers.