"Most people In Sweden celebrate Easter in a way that is a mix of pagan traditions as well as christian traditions.
Easter in Sweden starts with Skärtorsdag, which is Thursday before Easter. And Skärtorsdag is a very special day in Sweden because this is the day when the Swedish Easter witches, (påskkärringarna in Swedish) is on the move in Sweden!
The tradition to get dressed up as a Påskkärring have a long history in Sweden and it is mostly children who dress up as Easter witches. A real Easter witch have a kerchief or a headscarf where the ends are tied under the chin. They are also dressed in a long skirt and usually have an apron. Other necessary accessories are a basket, an old coffee pan or a small bucket. In order to look as a real
påskkärring they should also have their face painted with big red cheeks, some lipstick and painted freckles. In this outfit, they start to go from house to house to give away drawings or Easter letters and they are expecting to get some candy, cakes or money in return.
Easter letters are letters containing a colourful drawing of Easter witch on their way to Blåkulla, and mostly a text that says: ”Happy Easter ” and maybe a short poem. The letters was said to be messages to other witches, or messages to others from witches. From the beginning, the Easter letters was decorated with a feather in bright colour and that is believed to be the origin of our tradition to bring in birch twigs for Easter.
Historically the twigs was used for whipping each other, mainly as a symbol for the suffering Jesus did on Easter Friday and the whippings is said to have roots back to the 1600s. Eventually, the whipping evolved into a game and even the children was allowed to whip their parent on Easter for fun. Birch twigs was also used to whip each other during a sauna bath.
The tradition to dress up as an Easter witch is said to have its origin in the big witch hunt back in the 1600s. Back then, it was believed that the devil invited the witches to a party on Skärtorsdag. The witches began their journey trough the chimney in their house while they said the magical words: go now, up and down, and all the way to hell”!
It was also believed that the witches rested on the church towers, so the church towers was one place where it was best to look out for witches during Maundy thursday. The women could use all kinds of tools to ride on when they flew to Blåkulla as a witch and it was common to hide or lock in all the tools that could be used for transportation. Some tools and animals where regarded as especially suspicious and things like sticks, shovels, a broomstick or even a cow was believed to be tools that could be used for the ride." HubPages
Easter in Sweden starts with Skärtorsdag, which is Thursday before Easter. And Skärtorsdag is a very special day in Sweden because this is the day when the Swedish Easter witches, (påskkärringarna in Swedish) is on the move in Sweden!
The tradition to get dressed up as a Påskkärring have a long history in Sweden and it is mostly children who dress up as Easter witches. A real Easter witch have a kerchief or a headscarf where the ends are tied under the chin. They are also dressed in a long skirt and usually have an apron. Other necessary accessories are a basket, an old coffee pan or a small bucket. In order to look as a real
Easter letters are letters containing a colourful drawing of Easter witch on their way to Blåkulla, and mostly a text that says: ”Happy Easter ” and maybe a short poem. The letters was said to be messages to other witches, or messages to others from witches. From the beginning, the Easter letters was decorated with a feather in bright colour and that is believed to be the origin of our tradition to bring in birch twigs for Easter.
Historically the twigs was used for whipping each other, mainly as a symbol for the suffering Jesus did on Easter Friday and the whippings is said to have roots back to the 1600s. Eventually, the whipping evolved into a game and even the children was allowed to whip their parent on Easter for fun. Birch twigs was also used to whip each other during a sauna bath.
The tradition to dress up as an Easter witch is said to have its origin in the big witch hunt back in the 1600s. Back then, it was believed that the devil invited the witches to a party on Skärtorsdag. The witches began their journey trough the chimney in their house while they said the magical words: go now, up and down, and all the way to hell”!
It was also believed that the witches rested on the church towers, so the church towers was one place where it was best to look out for witches during Maundy thursday. The women could use all kinds of tools to ride on when they flew to Blåkulla as a witch and it was common to hide or lock in all the tools that could be used for transportation. Some tools and animals where regarded as especially suspicious and things like sticks, shovels, a broomstick or even a cow was believed to be tools that could be used for the ride." HubPages
There shall not be found among you .... a witch,
Deuteronomy 18:10
