Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter day / Påskdagen

Today were finally eating our chocolate easter rabbits...
I tried to eat mine already on thursday but Chris told me that...
we have to wait until its EASTER DAY :)



Easter in Sweden

Text from sweden.com Easter


How do we celebrate Easter in Sweden ?

Easter is the first extended weekend of the spring and this time of year is associated with the awakening of the natural world after months of hibernation.
A tradition in Sweden is that children dressed up as Easter witches with long skirts, colorful headscarves and painted red cheeks, go from house to house in the neighborhood and present the occupants with paintings and drawings in the hope of getting sweets in return.

According to Swedish folklore, during Easter the witches fly to Blåkulla (the Blue Mountain) to meet the devil. Their origins are to be found in the old superstition that Maundy Thursday was the time when witches stole household brooms and flew to dance and consort with the devil at a feast hosted by him on “Blue Mountain”, a fictitious mountain, possibly in present-day Iceland.

Children are given Easter eggs filled with candy.Some parents let the children search for the eggs themselves in a treasure hunt — following clues until they find their prizes.

Easter meal
A traditional Easter meal is likely to consist of different varieties of pickled herring, cured salmon and Jansson’s Temptation (potato, onion and pickled sprats baked in cream),egg, meatballs, lamb and much more. The table is often like a traditional smörgåsbord.

We are also painting eggs in different colours and decorate our houses with coloured feathers.




History

Easter, the most important Christian festival of all, commemorates the resurrection of Christ.

It begins on Palm Sunday in celebration of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. On Maundy Thursday, you were not allowed to spin or chop wood, as this might intensify Christ’s suffering. Also on that day, witches flew off to consort with the Devil at Mount Blåkulla, and people used to protect themselves by painting crosses on their front doors and hiding broomsticks and rakes so that the witches could not fly on them. Good Friday was spent in quiet contemplation. People dressed in black and ate salty food without anything to drink.

The whole week was designed to recall Christ’s suffering and death on the cross.
On Easter Saturday, the celebrations turned joyful, and people began eating eggs again. Eggs were sometimes painted in different colours, probably because they were often given away as presents.

Egg competition
In certain parts of Sweden the custom of äggapickning was observed. People gathered on Easter morning with hardboiled eggs in their pockets. Two players stood opposite each other, one holding his egg still and the other using his for attack. There were strict rules - end to end, never the sides. The winner was the one whose egg remained unbroken after the assault.


GLAD PÅSK = HAPPY EASTER!

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