I’m delighted to have my long-standing Twitter friend and fellow writer, Louise Nettleton, as my very first guest on my website. Louise is a book fanatic and dedicated writer, who runs a fabulously booky blog called Book Murmuration, so please check it out. (You can also find Louise on Twitter here!)

How to survive Easter in the event of a Chocopocalypse

By Louise Nettleton – bookmurmuration.wordpress.com

Easter is approaching, and one thing is high on everybody’s thoughts. Chocolate. The supermarket shelves are stacked with chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies and fantabulous chocolate sculptures. Wheel your trolley past that aisle and you will find crème eggs at the till. There’s no escape. Open  your Easter egg and it is likely you will find even more chocolatey-goodness inside. There’s no escaping it! For many people Easter is one massive sugar hit.

What if the Chocopocalypse hits this weekend? Is it even possible to have Easter without chocolate?

Don’t hit the panic button. Take inspiration from around the world to find your new favourite Easter traditions. Whether you take the Chocopocalypse seriously or you’re just looking for some variety, there are many wonderful ways to celebrate Easter.

Make a giant omelette:

The world has already run out of chocolate. It might as well run out of eggs! Every year the people of Bessiéres in Southern France prepare an omelette big enough for 10,000 people to eat. According to Lonely Planet, that’s 15,000 eggs and a whole lot of duck fat in the pan.

Legend says Napoleon passed through the town and enjoyed an omelette so much that he ordered a second one big enough for his entire army. The omelette has been made every Easter Monday since 1973 in celebration of this story.

Imagine how big the wooden spoons must be.

Dress as a raggedy-witch:

In Sweden Easter is largely a secular (non-religious) holiday. On Maundy Thursday children dress up as witches. They paint their cheeks red, wear headscarves and, carrying a copper kettle, visit their neighbours hoping for sweet offerings.

Fly a kite:

Swap bright wrappers for bright ribbons. In Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean kite-flying is an Easter tradition for all the family.

Children today are as likely to fly an expensive kite. Traditionally kites were made by their fliers, and one of the most popular kites was a Caddy Old Punch. This kite was made from paper, sticks and scraps of material. Instructions exist online if you are a budding kite-maker.

Why not make a day of it? Families in Guyana might pack a picnic and make a day of the celebrations. Get outside and let your imaginations soar.

Pace eggs:

Who needs a chocolate egg? Pace eggs originate from Lancashire in the UK. Take a chicken’s egg and carefully boil it in onion skin. This will give the egg-shell a marbled pattern. (To make it more colourful, boil it in beetroot. The possibilities are endless!)

Pace eggs might be given as a gift. The museum at Dove Cottage in the Lake District has beautiful examples of pace eggs given to the children of the poet William Wordsworth in the 1800s. If the idea of treasuring a hard-boiled egg doesn’t excite you, why not have an egg-rolling contest? Roll your eggs down from the top of a hill. Whoever’s egg goes furthest is the winner. Egg-rolling still takes place in some parts of the UK.

Throw pottery out of the window:

Corfu. A beautiful Greek Island. On Easter Saturday at 11am, the silence is broken by the sound of shattering pots and cheers. Whether this tradition is a symbolic rejection of Judas or whether it dates from an historical Venetian tradition, it is a great opportunity to break stuff!

Please note:

• People choose pots especially for the event. They don’t borrow their family’s favourite flowerpot.
• This tradition is well-known, so it is organised to ensure people’s safety. People walking past your window may not expect a pot to land on their head.
• If this is still your life’s ambition, wait until you can visit Corfu over Easter.

Read a good book:

Love a good mystery? In Norway reading detective fiction has become an Easter tradition. Head to your log cabin, light a wood fire and settle down with a good crime novel.

Could there possibly be a bigger mystery than the total disappearance of chocolate? The Seven Show says the Chocopocalypse is coming, but the more our hero Jelly investigates, the more certain she becomes that there is a great chocoplot to unwrap. Can she piece it together before chocolate disappears for good? Embrace this tradition by starting with The Great Chocoplot.

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Huge thanks, Louise, for this wonderful Easter post. You didn’t have to mention my book, but I’m glad you did! Egg rolling sounds like a lot of fun, but so does throwing stuff out of windows!! Reading a good book sounds even better!

Happy Easter