Chocolate eggs and hot cross buns have already been spotted for sale in shops including Morrisons, Tesco and Asda, reports SkyNews. No sooner is Christmas over that Easter begins.
Sky caught up with a number of shoppers in different parts of the country. One shopper, quoted by Sky said, “It’s funny as they’ve not even managed to shift the Christmas chocolates off the shelves yet and they’re already stocking for Easter.” Another said, “My message to retailers would be: while planning ahead is important, it’s also essential to be mindful of consumer sentiment……Striking the right balance is key to keeping customers happy.”
What is our view as a church? I guess there are several stands all pick n’ mixed up here. Firstly, Christmas and Easter are feasts of the church and each is preceded by a period of self-reflection, namely Advent and Lent. Christmas is not Christmas without Advent and nor is Easter Easter without Lent. Christianity is not all about the upside.
Secondly, confectionary is very much the poor relation to both theology and tradition when it comes to feasts of the church. It is a commercial act, and very much of the last 2 or 3 generations.
But thirdly, we Christians need to be realistic that the population as a whole is not particularly interested in any high moral stance that we might choose to take. Sometimes we just have to let it go.
Retail is retail and economic success is potentially good for everyone. But a supermarket that alienates a proportion of its customers is not going to have the longer-term success that it could otherwise have, and many people who do not regard themselves as Christian may still take exception to an insensitivity to part of our history and culture.
To quote another shopper mentioned by Sky, “It’s about more than shapes of chocolate!”
Read the story in SkyNews here.
Picture of chocolates above, posted on Facebook by Rev James Sawyer.