Glad Påsk! Happy Easter!

April 5, 2013 by megalagom 18 Comments

Sitting on the train heading up to Värnamo to spend the holiday with my in-laws we were approached by a little girl. Being accustomed to panhandling on the subway in NYC, I averted my eyes, hoping my husband would deal with it and send her away. When a meek gentle voice wished us “Glad Påsk” I saw that the girl was dressed as an Easter Witch with a green apron and scarf, covered in painted-on freckles. She was the daughter of the train conductor, handing out free chocolate Easter egg candies to all the passengers.

Easter in Sweden is all about the candy, eggs, and witches. Instead of Easter baskets, candy is kept in large paper Easter eggs:

The three main decorations of Easter are these oversized decorated Easter eggs, colorful feathers, and witches on broomsticks.

Wondering why Easter in Sweden has so many witches? Easter was believed to be the day when the witches would fly to the blue mountain and dance with the devil. It was common to  close the windows and light fires so the witches wouldn’t land on near your house. Nowadays, Swedish Easter witches are kids walking from house to house dressed in scarfs and rags with a copper teapot collecting treats from neighbors in exchange for drawings.

This year I even found devil chickens to accompany my Easter witch:

Freaky. Thankfully the cute type are still around:

And then we have the edible type that my husband expertly crafted:

Behind the scenes, making of:

As with every Swedish Holiday, the smörgåsbord is beautiful and delicious:

With a little extra eggs (Hard and soft boiled)  on the table, Påskmust (Easter soda) and schnaps. it is an Easter meal.

We rounded the night off with some monopoly…guess who won!?

Hope everyone had a great holiday!!

Read about last years Easter Here!