BOUGHT your Easter cards yet? Probably not. Easter is no longer a fully-blown card-sending occasion. But never slow to miss or even to create a marketing opportunity, the manufacturers are doing their best.

As soon as Mothers' Day has been and gone, the shelves are swept clear and the Easter cards are piled in. And very interesting they are too.

Christ has long been sidelined out of Christmas. In the high street card shops, Christ - even as an appealing little baby - is vastly outnumbered by Santas, reindeer, robins, Dickensian coachmen, trees and presents. But even though Easter has long had more to do with chocolate eggs than resurrection, the cards come as a surprise.

RELIGION RULES

AT a rough calculation, nearly half the cards are strongly religious. They don't shy away from pictures of crosses - even pictures of the crucified Christ. They are bold, confident and uncompromising. Easter is a religious festival. True, some of them look as though they might double up as condolence cards, but the message is clear - usually "Easter Blessings".

There was even a very jolly card that told the Easter story in rhyme and managed to get the Easter bunnies in, watching the Crucifixion. It didn't quite get Easter eggs in, but you had a distinct feeling that they were only just out of the picture. Mel Gibson would definitely not approve.

Truly nauseous, however, was an American offering which urged us "In the spirit of Easter... believe in miracles!" It included such dreadful New Age claptrap as "Reach within to find your own speechlessness... Create your own rainbows." We resisted the urge to rip it in shreds and hurl it across the room, but it was a near thing.

ALMOST RELIGIOUS

THESE are the cards of choice of people who are religious but who are shy of forcing it on other people. These cards are big on pretty pictures of country churches with daffodils and primroses, or stained glass windows, or daffs and lambs seen through church windows. They are inoffensive but a bit non-committal really.

SPRING IS SPRING

BIG on chicks, lambs, daffodils and primroses. No religious reference at all, but the message is of spring as a time of hope and new beginnings.

EASTER FUN

THIS is where the Easter eggs come rolling on. Lots of cheerful eggs, often with bunnies, teddies and anything innocent and innocuous. The designers of these cards are not sure quite what the message is, or even if there is any message at all. They don't want to mention religion but fall shy of wishing that you get all the chocolate you can eat, so content themselves with eggs and all-purpose messages.

PLAIN GREED

AT last - the chocolate! Pictures of Easter treats, hot cross buns, chocolate eggs and even one that urges us to "Fill yer legs with tons of eggs/'cos groovy Easter's here!"

From Crucifixion to Chocfest in four easy moves...