Whether you celebrate Easter or not, it’s hard to escape the hype during April. With chocolate eggs stocked in shops, an abundance of seemingly free and happy lambs frequenting farms, and invitations to Sunday lunch, April has become all about Easter. Traditionally a Christian holiday, although not solely enjoyed by those that are religious, Easter is the celebration of the final week of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and has come to symbolise the dawn of new life and rebirth. Easter also stems back to pagan times, and has many of its roots in the traditions and rituals of the pagan people, who lived before the UK’s mass conversion to the Christian faith. Many scholars believe that it was in fact named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, ‘Eostre’. Despite the cards and cute bunnies, there is a lot of irony associated with the holiday of ‘life’, and we uncover the disturbing truth of what it really represents. Over the following pages, we look at the ways people celebrate, and help you to have a happy vegan Easter.