The Sunday Times reported on 9 April 2017 that most chocolate eggs for sale online from the big high street brands no longer carry the word Easter on their packaging.
The newspaper had surveyed online offerings of eggs from Tesco, Selfridges, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. The Sunday Times discussed the findings of their survey with Professor Francis Davis, Director of Public Policy at The Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion at the University of Birmingham, and quoted him with the words: “If in your core marketing you are using the Easter word and you skip it in your packaging . . . your message is incoherent”. According to the newspaper, he also said that the packaging displayed a “creeping cultural insensitivity and religious illiteracy”.
Less than a week ago, Professor Francis Davis was asked about his opinion on another Easter-related controversy in The Telegraph. The Telegraph had reported that The National Trust, in partnership with the now American-owned chocolate company Cadbury, was in the process of changing the name of an event, previously known as the ‘Easter Egg Trail’, to the ‘Cadbury's Great British Egg Hunt’ when Trust members, a Cadbury family member and politicians, including Theresa May, spoke out against such a “ridiculous” decision (Theresa May) that would “airbrush faith” (The Church of England) from the important religious festival of Easter. The Telegraph quoted Professor Francis Davis with the words: "This comical decision is in breach of the traditions of the Cadbury's family and the values they have always held dear." Read more about the controversy on The Telegraph’s website.