EASTER is synonymous with eggs but around the globe other foods are commonly consumed when people celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

Eggs represent new life with the shell symbolising the tomb of Christ while the egg inside represents rebirth.

The custom of giving chocolate at Easter originated in Victorian times and today chocolate eggs are devoured in vast quantities.

Chocolate is not the only food eaten at this time of the year. Hot cross buns are now a mainstay of Good Friday and have been eaten ever since Christianity arrived in England.

Christians began making the buns to replace the wheat cakes baked by Anglo-Saxons to honour Eostre, the goddess of spring. This is where the word Easter derives from.

Similar sweet breads are eaten around the world. Italians tuck in to Coloma di Pasqua, a cake similar to panettone and shaped like a dove.

In eastern Europe at this time of year people enjoy Paska which is a type of bread with a swirl of yellow and white inside to represent the resurrection of Jesus.

In Russia the bread is often eaten alongside Pashka, a dessert dish consisting of food forbidden during Lent. The main ingredient is curd cheese which is shaped in to a pyramid to symbolise the tomb of Christ.

Lamb is often eaten by Christians during Easter. The tradition has its roots in Jewish Passover celebrations. The story of Exodus tells how Jews painted sacrificial lamb's blood on their door posts, so that God knew to 'pass over' these houses and not punish those who lived there.

Jews that converted to Christianity ate their Passover meal at Easter to celebrate the end of Lent and the resurrection of Christ. Lamb of God is one of the titles given to Jesus in the Bible.

In the United States, ham is more commonly eaten. The tradition is a result of the seasons more than religion, although pigs have always been a symbol of luck and prosperity.

In a time before refrigeration, pigs were slaughtered in autumn and cured during the winter ready to be eaten around Easter time.