Do people in other countries eat Easter eggs

A.� More than 250,000 tons of chocolate will be sold worldwide this Easter. That's equivalent to more than 36 billion inch-long chocolate eggs.

Although 43 per cent of British people have no idea what Easter commemorates, according to the Dail y Mail, 75 per cent of the population bought Easter eggs last year.

Eggs have been part of traditional Easter celebrations across the world for centuries. In Germany eggs that go into Easter foods aren't broken, instead their insides are blown out. The shells are then deocated and hung with ribbons on evergreen trees.

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Q.� Where did the egg tradition begin

A.� Eggs were decorated, blessed, exchanged and eaten as part of the rites of spring long before Christian times. Even the earliest civilisations held spring festivals to welcome back the sun from its winter sleep. People believed the sun's return from darkness was a miracle and regarded the egg as a symbol of the renewal of life. As Christianity spread, the egg was adopted as a symbol of Christ's Resurrection from the tomb.

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For centuries, eggs were among the foods forbidden by the church during Lent, so it was a treat to have them again at Easter. In Slavic countries, baskets of food, including eggs, are traditionally taken to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday or before the Easter midnight mass, then taken home for Easter breakfast.

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During ther reign of the tsars, Russians celebrated Easter more elaborately than Christmas, with special foods and decorated wuth eggs as gifts. The royal family carried the custom to great lengths, giving each other jewelled eggs made by goldsmith Carl Faberge from the 1880s until�the 1917 revolution.

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People in Central European countries have a long tradition of decorated Easter eggs. Polish, Ukrainiana and Slavic people create intricate designs using wax pencils. The eggs are then dipped in colour and the process repeated many times. Yugoslavian Easter eggs bear the initials XV which stands for Christ is Risen.

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The term Easter was first used when Christianity was introduced to the Saxons. Before then, the Saxons had held an annual feast in honour of the Teutonic goddess of spring, Eostre.

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Q.� How long should you boil an egg to make it hardboiled

A.� Fresh eggs need at least 10 minutes in boiling water. You can use an egg timer to help you keep track. Leave them to cool, usually in cold water. If you plan to decoated your eggs, try painting them with gold and silver warer-based paint. Use glue to attach ribbons, sequins or glitter.

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By Katharine MacColl