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Has commercialism gone to far? Is Easter just another commercial opportunity to sell more greeting cards, candy, chocolates and the like?

Ecobites looks at ways to make your Easter more environmentally sustainable and fun for you and your family. 

Easter is the most important religious feast of the Christian year. But as with many other Christian events, the celebration of Easter extends beyond the church.

Ancient civilizations celebrated by feasting with family and friends, and pagan fertility traditions and symbols have, over the centuries, become part of Easter celebrations. However, for many people today, it is just another commercial opportunity, benefiting greeting card and candy manufacturers.

Unfortunately, most families’ Easter celebrations are also orgies of excess packaging and unhealthy eating, tempting some to try to ignore it altogether. But the season is fun for many children and invites those of us, to be optimistic about life and renewal, a sentiment that is much needed these days. In that spirit, here are some thoughts about creating a greener, healthier and more meaningful Eco Easter, whether or not you celebrate the religious aspect of the occasion.

Eggs have been symbols of Spring probably since the beginning of human civilization. Ancient Romans and Greeks used eggs as symbols of fertility, rebirth and abundance. Eggs were also solar symbols and played a part in the festivals of various resurrected gods. The tradition of giving a chocolate egg to mark the end of Lent dates back to at least the 19th century. Giving candy eggs at Easter might seem like a harmless extension of that tradition, but it’s one that can harm the health of both children and the environment.

Some FDA-approved food dyes are made from coal tar and other petroleum products, so they’re not necessarily healthy or eco-friendly.

According to Jane Hersey, Director of the Feingold Association, Easter candies can contain sodium Hexametaphosphate, Malic Acid, Blue 1, Mineral Oil, PGPR, Red 40, Magnesium Stearate, Yellow 5, Sorbitan Mono- stearate, Blue 2, Polysorbate 60, Invertase, Yellow 6. Studies have shown that synthetic food dyes, artificial flavouring, and certain preservatives found in many candies and processed foods can trigger hyperactivity and attention problems in sensitive children. So read labels and buy organic sweets, without added sugar at organic suppliers, or a healthier option would be to make your own delicious organic Easter treats.  Also beware of those waxy chocolate eggs and bunnies and look for the fair trade and organic chocolates that are becoming increasingly easier to find.

Hersey also suggests feeding your children breakfast before letting them indulge in Easter treats. And replace Easter treats with organic dried pineapples, bananas, apricots, cranberries, figs or dates etc, which are much more nourishing.You could also put a wooden or cloth toy or play silk  + organic dried fruit in the Easter basket to help take the emphasis off sweets.A basket filled with cooking utensils and ingredients and create an Easter treat with the children would be a fun and healthy start for Easter.

Dyeing your own real eggs can be a healthier substitute for candy. But beware of the dyes that you use. Most egg dye kits are labeled as non-toxic, but that doesn’t mean they are free of harmful ingredients. Look for plant-based dyes instead. The most enjoyable and educational solution is to create your own natural dyes by experimenting with foods like spinach, orange peel, brown onion and red cabbage (which produces a blue colouring, not red). To create a coloured design on an egg using yellow onion skins, wrap the dry outer skins around a raw egg and hold them in place with a rubber band. Hard boil the egg, unwrap it and you’ll have a lovely random design and rich orange/gold colour on your egg, or add chopped brown onions + skins to the boiling water for a lovely gold colour, especially if using brown eggs, For a lovely pink egg, soak a hard boiled egg overnight in beetroot juice.

The baskets that traditionally carry all those eggs can be problematic too, all too often finding their way into the trash a few days after Easter. Look for alternative containers like small wooden wagons and dump trucks, book bags, toy carrying cases and other things that can have a second life after Easter. Small laundry baskets, recycling containers or waste baskets can be decorated with stickers, wool, ribbon, fabric strips or raffia. And skip the petroleum-based plastic “grass” in favour of natural products like sprouted wheat grass or raffia, or recycled products like paper from your shredder.

Older children might enjoy foregoing the eggs and fuzzy chicks altogether in favour of a plant pot, some heirloom seeds and soil so they can grow their own herbs or small veggies. 

The deliverer of the candy-laden Easter basket is traditionally the Easter Bunny. That tradition probably dates back to second century Europe, where the Saxon fertility goddess Eastre had the hare as her sacred animal. However, you should probably avoid the temptation to bring home a live bunny. In the months following Easter, local humane societies and animal rescue organizations are flooded with Easter gifts whose recipients were ill-prepared to look after them and have tired of the novelty (It is illegal to keep rabbits in most states of Australia). 

Ducklings and chicks given as gifts are cute and fuzzy, but are not kid-friendly pets unless they are living on a farm. These gifts are abandoned by the thousands. Replace the bunny with the Australian Bilby, you can purchase some wonderful story books on the Bilby and also a donation to help save the Bilby would be one of the best gifts at Easter.

Members of your extended family might not be in agreement with your desire for a healthy, eco-Easter. Nevertheless, don’t be afraid to share your concerns about too much chocolate, candy dyes or excess packaging with close relatives and friends. Give them some alternative suggestions. Or ask them to join in some fun activities, like experimenting with natural dyes on a few dozen hard-boiled eggs or participating in an Easter Egg hunt. Or hold a recycled Easter bonnet parade with everyone crafting a unique piece of headgear out of scrap materials. Or plant some trees. Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai has called on people around the world to plant trees at Easter as a symbol of renewal and to protect the planet. “If it was a worldwide campaign it would be wonderful; you can imagine the millions of trees that would be planted,”

Maathai said when she received the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai, a Christian who has led plantings of 30 million trees across Africa to combat deforestation, thinks that an annual tree-planting drive could symbolize revival for all peoples. Easter is a good time, she says, because Christians believe that Christ was crucified on a wooden cross, which must have necessitated the felling of a tree.

One family we know stages a family Spring cleaning event on Easter weekend. They think up the chores at a family meeting and then write them on pieces of paper and put them into a big jar. Each person takes a slip of paper and runs off to complete the chosen task within a certain time limit. When their chore is completed, they take a fair trade chocolate egg, or home-made organic Easter treat, from a second jar / basket. With some energizing music on the stereo and everybody sharing the work, the cleaning is accomplished in a short period of time, often accompanied by lots of hugs and laughter.

Lastly, preparing and sharing healthy food is a great way to celebrate any occasion. Host a potluck with a theme, using only organic local food for your feast is another good eco-friendly way to celebrate the occasion and help the environment.

Reducing waste this Easter

Make your own Easter treats instead of buying shop bought Easter eggs – children will love helping to make carob cakes, muffins or fruit and nut balls or creating Easter bunny-shaped biscuits.

Instead of buying toys for the children to keep them amused over the holiday, challenge them to get creative and help them to reuse scraps of foil, card and material found from nature and around the home, to make an Easter bonnet to wear on Easter Sunday.

Making a big Easter organic lunch for all the family? Don’t forget to compost the fruit and vegetable peelings afterwards.

If you do get a packaged Easter egg, make sure you reuse the foil, cardboard and the plastic packaging, or contact your local authority to see if you can recycle the foil and cardboard locally.

Instead of sending an Easter card, this year why not reduce waste and send your greeting by email instead?

If you usually give gifts at Easter, then this year why not give a green Easter gift – perhaps buying gifts like chickens or lambs for people in poverty-stricken countries. This way your gift will help a family or community in poverty on their way to self-sufficiency; and the person you have bought the gift for will receive a gift card and certificate explaining how the gift will benefit others.

However you celebrate, have a happy and healthy Easter!

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