Chocolatier Cadbury has come under fire for removing the word ‘Easter’ from its National Trust Egg Hunt campaign, prompting criticism from senior political figures and the Church of England.
Cadbury’s were accused of dropping the word ‘Easter’ from its adverts for a Easter Egg Hunt at National Trust properties, renaming it the Cadbury Egg Hunt, by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. Prime Minister Theresa May, as both a “vicar’s daughter and a Member of the National Trust” called the move “absolutely ridiculous”, adding: “I don’t know what they’re thinking about.”
“Easter’s very important. It’s important to me, it’s a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world.
“So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous.”
Other politicians also waded into the debate, including Nigel Farage.
As I have said before, we must defend our Judeo-Christian culture and that means Easter. https://t.co/EBuoqakTzo
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) April 4, 2017
Jeremy Corbyn said the decision to include Cadbury rather than Easter in the logo’s title was “commercialisation gone a bit too far”, adding that “It upsets me because I don’t think Cadbury’s should take over the name of Easter”.
The National Trust have denied the allegations that they are ‘hiding’ Easter, saying in a statement on their website:
“It’s nonsense to suggest the National Trust is downplaying the significance of Easter. Nothing could be further from the truth. We host a huge programme of events, activities and walks to bring families together to celebrate this very special time of year.
“A casual glance at our website will see dozens of references to Easter throughout.”
However, soon after the statement the charity added the words “this Easter” to a webpage headlined “Join the Cadbury egg hunts”.