Easter is almost upon us but why do we have a couple of days off work and eat chocolate until we feel sick? You have inundated us with requests for information about the holy festival so we’ve recruited renowned theologist Dr Ian Francis (pictured) from the University of Wigan to answer your questions.

‘What is Easter? I’ve never heard of it.’ Tom Easter, 53, from Wolverhampton.
Easter is celebration of the death and resurrection of the excellent Jesus Christ. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus gathered his disciples for what would be the Last Supper. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified, and on Easter Day he came back to life. He had not died but had gone up to heaven to spend some time with God, his absentee father. He disappeared for good a few weeks later. He was last spotted in Goa in 1997.

‘Why do we have eggs at Easter?’ Peter Headset, 47, from Dartmouth.
Eggs symbolise new life and have been associated with Easter for millions of years. The tradition of eating chocolate eggs dates back to the Last Supper where Jesus and his disciples gorged themselves on small egg-shaped chocolates, fish fingers and Red Bull.

‘Why does the date of Easter move?’ Russell Square, 36, from Derby.
The Church claims that the date revolves around the lunar calendar, but in reality it has more to do with the schedules of senior Church officials. Easter Sunday was pencilled in for 6th April this year but the date was moved at the last minute as it clashed with the Bishop of Durham’s trip to Las Vegas to see Celine Dion and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s pool party.

‘Why was Jesus crucified?’ Vladimir Smith, 27, from Grimsby.
Jesus proclaimed himself as King of the Jews, which was illegal under Roman law as it was viewed as a direct challenge to the authority of the Emperor. There was a custom at Passover for the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to free a prisoner, so he offered the crowd a choice between Jesus of Nazareth and the disgraced author Jeffrey Archer. The crowd chose to have Archer freed and Jesus crucified. Pilate washed his hands to indicate that he was innocent of the injustice of the decision.

Jesus’ case was not helped by the fact the he had a string of previous convictions including riding a donkey under the influence of God, and an ASBO following an incident at a local temple.

‘Who was Judas?’ Parvez Sohail, 42, from Ipswich.
Jesus predicted that one of his disciples would disown him and Judas lived up to his name. He accepted 30 pieces of silver in return for identifying Jesus to Roman guards by kissing him at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus described Judus’ behaviour as ‘a betrayal’ and lips as ‘rubbery’.

‘What took place on Easter Sunday?’ Wilfred Shackelton, 8, from Wembley.
Jesus rose from the dead, as he told his disciples he would before he was crucified. His body was left in a huge stone tomb, but when his disciples went there to lay some flowers, it was empty. Jesus was later found in a local park, listening to hymns on his iPod.

‘How old was Jesus when he died?’ Janis Johansson, 71, from Weston-Super-Mare.
Jesus was born on Christmas Day in around 4 BC and crucified on Good Friday, so he was around 4 months old when he died. Despite this he was a strapping 6-footer with long hair and a beard which he grew because he was a big fan of the band Motorhead.