Easter

Easter in Sweden is an explosion of vivid colours. Visit any market, in any town square across the country, and you are sure to find bright yellow daffodils and other yellow flowers in abundance.

Birch twigs with colourful feathers

Photo: Bengt af Geijerstam/Bildhuset

Photo: Elisabeth Edén

You will also see birch twigs adorned with colourful feathers for sale. In days gone by, the birch twigs were believed to speed the coming of Spring, and to this day it is a magical sight when the twigs sprout green leaves.

Time for family
One thing all Swedes will agree on is that Easter is the time to be with family. Many take the chance to travel to their country cottages to open the houses that have been shuttered since the end of the summer. In many areas, the Easter holidays are the perfect time for winter sports.

Religious beginnings
After the long grey winter, the celebration of Easter coincides with the anticipated arrival of springtime. In much earlier times the holiness of the Easter period, the most important Christian celebration, was strictly governed by the Church of Sweden. While many of the religious rites of the holiday (such as the period of the Lenten fast) have not been celebrated for centuries in Sweden, it is still an important holiday for Swedes.

Photo: Marie-Louise Johansson

Food
Food served at Easter has retained some of the religious significance and traditions of days gone by. The delicious semla, a three-level sweet bun filled with cream and almond paste was eaten first at Shrovetide and then on Tuesdays in Lent. Now you can find the buns well before Lent. At Easter, the menu generally includes roasted lamb, as well as different types of fish, arranged like the Christmas smorgasbord, on tables heavily laden with a variety of dishes. Coloured eggs are used to decorate the table and chocolate eggs and candy are given as treats to children.

Photo: Jan Tham

Easter witches
The presence of Easter witches bring to mind the gruesome belief that Easter was the time when witches flew off to meet with the devil at Blåkulla (Blue Mountain). Today little girls dress up in head scarves and long skirts with aprons, their faces painted with rosy cheeks and dark freckles. They go from house to house looking for candy or coins.

Author: Tsemaye Opubor Hambraeus, journalist