Easter in Sweden

Easter Weekend in Sweden --

When we met our landlord for the first time we were here on our apartment hunting trip and actually looking at a different apartment.  It was towards the end of October and I noticed there wasn’t much around in the way of fall decorations or Halloween decorations which are big in many areas of the states.  So, I asked about it and was told that they do celebrate Halloween and were actually getting more into it, but it was at Easter that they dressed up more in costume.  She told me they dress as witches and go about getting candy. Some of you might have heard this before, but I’m the mom who, when Annie was in kindergarten and dressed as a little black cat for the Halloween parade, told the teacher she was a house cat not a Halloween cat, so she wouldn’t have her march alongside the witch. (GRIN) So, hearing this about Easter here in Sweden, I made a mental note I did not really want be around.

A little bit about a Swedish Easter of today.  It is traditionally not about a religious celebration for most of the Swedes, but still a major celebration. They have egg candles, egg candies, wooden eggs, cooked eggs – eggs are big – as well as wooden and toy chicks and bunnies in the storefronts along with these haggy looking witches.  They also have some Easter candies available in the stores but not the huge variety we see in all the stores in the states - starting after Valentine's Day. The children, while they are quite cute in their costumes (see picture), dress as witches and folklore tells that on Thursday before Easter (skärtorsdagen in Swedish) the witches flew off on broomsticks to dance with the devil at Blåkulla.  The holiday lasts the entire weekend, but beginning the celebration on the Thursday before Easter, Swedish children go door-to-door receiving candies or coins and spreading Easter cheer.  You will notice in the picture the Swedish witch doesn’t look like the witch of the Halloween as we know it… or the witch I didn’t want Annie walking with in the kindergarten parade.  On the Easter Sunday they usually have a smorgåsbord of food which is similar to the Christmas feast.



This was taken from a local Swedish paper translated in English

So, not quite knowing what to expect, as Easter approached, Gary told me he had a four-day weekend and suggested we take a trip to see the fjords along western Norway.  This was an area we both wanted to visit, so I was game for a quick trip.  Little did we know what splendor awaited us.