Easter - Chocolate - Catholic

Its Easter time and I am not a fan, I am a fan of chocolate but not Easter eggs. I was reading yesterday of up roar over the fact some Easter egg makers have omitted the word Easter off their packaging. Why pay for all that packaging when it would be cheaper to buy a bar of chocolate.

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary if you are a believer. In the Catholic Church, which is my religion Good Friday is supposed to be a fast day in which having one full meal and abstaining from eating meat is called for. Has a kid the only time you would see Dad in the kitchen was on Good Friday because it was is job to cook the fish. A trip to Ashton Fishmongers in Cardiff Market would be called for to get some nice fillets of cod.

Ashton’s is still there fascinating to young children as it was when I was a child. All the fish and the smell makes it an experience to behold.

Dad made some of the best batter in the world and much better than the local chippies. With it being a no meat day in our house due to a strict Catholic upbringing I did wonder growing up how Dad squared using lard to fry the fish and the chips, isn’t lard basically pigs fat, a meat product.

I remember Easter Saturday was time to hit the confessional box at St Cuthbert’s. It would be busier than usual has you cleared the decks before the big Easter Sunday mass. Like Christmas all the part-time Catholic’s come out of the wood work funny thing like a lot of Catholic’s I am not even a part-timer more like a sleeper Catholic who has "gone to sleep", until when, who knows.

Why Easter has become synonymous with chocolate I have no idea, it’s been around since I was a kid in days gone by people would decorate eggs to celebrate Easter and then give them out to loved ones. My strict Catholic upbringing means Easter Sunday is not about getting sick eating chocolate it’s a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. One egg before church, dressed in your best and get in early for the best seats in the house is what I remember from my childhood.

The Easter Bunny