Page 4 | Easter lamb

purpleheartsandroses · 2026-04-05T11:52:57+00:00

Why is lamb the go to meat for Easter? Let's celebrate the new life of spring....by eating it??? I love lamb, it's my favourite meat. But wouldn't mutton be more appropriate? Or chicken so we can celebrate the new life hatching from the eggs? AIBU to think we should be eating the "old" meat, so we can celebrate the arrival of new life?

TheNinkyNonkyIsATardis · 05/04/2026 14:19

purpleheartsandroses · 05/04/2026 12:57

What's in supermarkets is led by demand. Mutton isn't stocked much because people are accustomed to lamb.

I'm not against eating lamb, I love lamb.

I just think it's odd to eat lamb for a festival that celebrates new life.

We're having a duck today, but I've bought several legs of lamb to freeze while they're cheap!

It celebrates new life because we can eat the new life and therefore live.

Must have been bloody hard going through winter without modern food preservation techniques!

Talkingtomyhouseplants · 05/04/2026 14:19

Lamb of God?

IckyIck · 05/04/2026 14:13

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 05/04/2026 14:06

We took the children to a farm - lambs frolicking and huts with eggs - then through to the “gift shop” where a big chest freezer greeted us full of frozen lamb joints. Brutal!

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The lambs wouldn't have been there if they weren't being reared for slaughter.

JoWawa · 05/04/2026 14:12

It arises from the Passover tradition, when God told the Jews to eat a lamb and mark their house with the blood. Easter and Passover are both based around the same traditions. Easter in Christianity is not about celebrating new life but the resurrection.

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 05/04/2026 14:11

ToKittyornottoKitty · 05/04/2026 14:09

How is it brutal? You obviously knew what the farm was for before you went!

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Yes we went for the butchery children’s fun day 🤣

ToKittyornottoKitty · 05/04/2026 14:09

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 05/04/2026 14:06

We took the children to a farm - lambs frolicking and huts with eggs - then through to the “gift shop” where a big chest freezer greeted us full of frozen lamb joints. Brutal!

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How is it brutal? You obviously knew what the farm was for before you went!

Ithinkofawittyusernamethenforgetit · 05/04/2026 14:06

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 05/04/2026 13:11

I don’t disagree. I remember taking DD to the farm and feeding newborn lambs then going home to my DH having cooked a lamb dinner. I felt awful and never ate it again.

We took the children to a farm - lambs frolicking and huts with eggs - then through to the “gift shop” where a big chest freezer greeted us full of frozen lamb joints. Brutal!

Blanketpolicy · 05/04/2026 14:03

purpleheartsandroses · 05/04/2026 12:57

What's in supermarkets is led by demand. Mutton isn't stocked much because people are accustomed to lamb.

I'm not against eating lamb, I love lamb.

I just think it's odd to eat lamb for a festival that celebrates new life.

We're having a duck today, but I've bought several legs of lamb to freeze while they're cheap!

Eating a duckling today is ok but lamb not?

IckyIck · 05/04/2026 13:56

It's to symbolise the sacrifice of the lamb of God.

Same here. It smells of sheep. @GlasgowGal2014 .

@UniquePinkSwan , so delicious that you post while eating it.

UniquePinkSwan · 05/04/2026 13:54

Shinyhappyapple · 05/04/2026 13:17

I agree with you - how watching baby lambs playing in the fields makes people think ‘yummy I could eat that, I don’t know’. But that is more of a judgement of people eating them anyway and it’s correct what some posters have said, that the lamb on your plate is not one of the babies you’ve just seen in the field. They will be older.

I do. I’m literally eating lamb leftovers right now now. Delicious!

Beachtastic · 05/04/2026 13:51

What better way to celebrate new life than to eat it?! especially when lambs have conveniently made themselves so delicious.

GlasgowGal2014 · 05/04/2026 13:49

purpleheartsandroses · 05/04/2026 13:03

That does make sense if you're Christian then I guess. I think of Easter as more of the pagen spring celebration. (As do most people celebrating with chocolate eggs I presume?)

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Does it make sense? I thought the opposite! Surely if Jesus is the lamb of God that is the last thing Christians should be eating to mark his resurrection? I don't like lamb so don't eat it at any time of year.

IckyIck · 05/04/2026 13:29

Shinyhappyapple · 05/04/2026 13:19

So he was called that because people used to sacrifice lambs? I have heard the phrase but never realised where it came from.

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Many lambs were sacrificed in the Bible. Bible Study: How Many Times Is Lamb Mentioned In The Bible (What Does The Bible Say About Lamb Of God)? | Christian Pure

Original poster

purpleheartsandroses · 05/04/2026 13:27

So more the association of lamb and new life than the meat actually being new born.

Not as bad as eating veal for Easter then!

OP posts:

Shinyhappyapple · 05/04/2026 13:19

IckyIck · 05/04/2026 13:01

Jesus is 'the lamb of God' to Christians and he was sacrificed.

So he was called that because people used to sacrifice lambs? I have heard the phrase but never realised where it came from.

Shinyhappyapple · 05/04/2026 13:17

I agree with you - how watching baby lambs playing in the fields makes people think ‘yummy I could eat that, I don’t know’. But that is more of a judgement of people eating them anyway and it’s correct what some posters have said, that the lamb on your plate is not one of the babies you’ve just seen in the field. They will be older.

Original poster

purpleheartsandroses · 05/04/2026 13:17

FishingInTheRiversOfLife · 05/04/2026 13:10

If you believe that story, then he chose it himself. These lambs aren't choosing death. Also Jesus rose from the dead (apparently), so he didn't even really sacrifice anything, apart from a long weekend, I guess.

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😂

This response is the perfect argument for reinstating the laughter emoji on MN!

OP posts:

Drpawpawspaw · 05/04/2026 13:13

The lamb you are eating is not the lamb that’s literally just been born - it’s last years.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 05/04/2026 13:12

FishingInTheRiversOfLife · 05/04/2026 13:10

If you believe that story, then he chose it himself. These lambs aren't choosing death. Also Jesus rose from the dead (apparently), so he didn't even really sacrifice anything, apart from a long weekend, I guess.

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Long weekend 😂. Sorry that made me laugh.

CheeseCakeSunflowers · 05/04/2026 13:12

Lambs are currently being born in the UK, they will go to slaughter when they have grown to between 40-50kg which will be age 6-12 months, if you have fresh UK lamb to eat now it would have been born very early in the season at the end of last year. Most lamb in the shops now is from New Zealand.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 05/04/2026 13:11

I don’t disagree. I remember taking DD to the farm and feeding newborn lambs then going home to my DH having cooked a lamb dinner. I felt awful and never ate it again.

FishingInTheRiversOfLife · 05/04/2026 13:10

IckyIck · 05/04/2026 13:01

Jesus is 'the lamb of God' to Christians and he was sacrificed.

If you believe that story, then he chose it himself. These lambs aren't choosing death. Also Jesus rose from the dead (apparently), so he didn't even really sacrifice anything, apart from a long weekend, I guess.

Laserwho · 05/04/2026 13:10

I have never heard that lamb is the go to meat for Easter. We had sea food pasta.

FishingInTheRiversOfLife · 05/04/2026 13:09

All meat is death. It is a bizarre concept to me that people eat meat to celebrate life and rebirth and new beginnings. Or, at Christmas, to celebrate peace and love and goodwill.
We are a nation of sheep!

ToKittyornottoKitty · 05/04/2026 13:08

purpleheartsandroses · 05/04/2026 13:06

Chickens have a much, much shorter life span.

I don't "want" anything. People can eat whatever they want for Easter.

I just think it's odd to associate eating lamb, a new life, for a festival that is celebrating new life.

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Not really, chickens life 5-10 years and are typically slaughtered at 5-6 weeks old. Sheep can live 10-15 years but are slaughtered at about 7-8 months old. Chickens life spans aren’t much shorter and are slaughtered much younger.