IT’S Easter Sunday tomorrow in case you hadn’t noticed.

As someone who cares not for Christianity, or any religion in fact, this means little to me other than free chocolate and a family meal.

But despite my well known lack of faith and me being well clear of childhood my mum still feels it necessary to give me an Easter gift.

Admittedly that has changed from being a plethora of low quality novelty eggs to something more salubrious, but nevertheless, I still get something every year.

In many countries, for example Greece, Easter is a bigger deal than Christmas.

So why the big fuss at this time of year – it’s about Jesus right?

Actually no – it’s all down to the spring equinox – the annual Pagan new year celebration.

The origins of Easter and particularly the Easter egg are often claimed to be a symbol of Jesus’ alleged resurrection.

But did you know that the egg is the symbol of new life and painted eggs were used to celebrate the spring equinox hundreds of years before Jesus was around?

"But where does the Easter Bunny come into it? I hear you cry."

Well apparently that is a German invention originating from the 1800s.

In Pagan mythology the similarly formed Hare was the symbol of spring and the lunar goddess Eostre.

But with rabbits being more common throughout Europe pragmatic fans of Easter eventually adopted the bunny.

The rabbit’s virility didn’t hurt its image as a symbol of new life either.

Interestingly the first edible Easter bunnies were a sugary pastry and chocolate ones came much later.

But while we can quarrel about Easter’s origins and which religion cares about it the most, one thing is undisputable.

Easter now means chocolate and rampant commercialisation.

And so we get to the origins of this ‘lesson’.

I was in the supermarket the other day and I spotted a cute chocolate Easter cow.

What the cow has to do with Easter I know not but I thought it would be a good gift for my four-year-old nephew.

It was only small so I figured it would cost no more than a quid so I bought it without hesitation.

In fact it cost double that.

So all Easter means to me this year is being ripped off by a well known chocolate manufacturer.