The Scandinavian countries have their own traditions. Read on and learn more about them.
Easter marks the transition into spring from a long and dark winter. It is a significant holiday for everyone in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is the time of the year when most locals take a whole week off work to spend time with their families, hit the ski slopes for the final time in the season, or enjoy the spring sun at home.
But did you know that the Norwegians are obsessed with Easter crime? The Swedes love the Easter witches, while the Danes send rhymes and poetry to family and friends.
However, the Swedish witches are not the scary ones you would see at Halloween, but kinder ones called “Påskkärringar” (Easter witches) with headscarves and painted cheeks.
Norwegians are highly passionate about crime fiction during the Easter season. The practice of reading crime fiction novels and watching Nordic noir TV shows and films during Easter is known as påskekrim.
Gækkebreve (the name ‘gække’ refers to the snowdrop flowers—a sign of spring) is a Danish Easter tradition in which children (and adults) create elaborate paper cutouts with poems inside. Signed only with dots for the sender’s name (as many dots as letters in the name), a guessing game ensues about who made it, and the winner gets an Easter egg!
Homes in Sweden are adorned with “påskris”, birch twigs decorated with colored feathers and small decorations. These are placed on dining tables and windows and are thought to help spring arrive after the long winter.
It’s hard to avoid påskekrim in Norway. In the weeks leading up to Easter, bookshops promote their Easter crime compilations and offers, while newspapers detail the TV shows and movies you can enjoy over the holiday.
Pagan traditions of celebrating vårblot influence Scandinavian Easter traditions—when one thanked the pagan gods for spring arriving and prayed for a good harvest. There are possible German/Anglo-Saxon links to the goddess of Ēostre, which might explain some ties to eggs in all Scandinavian countries (signs of fertility).
The three Scandinavian countries share the traditions of painting eggs and organizing Easter egg hunts. Why do Scandinavians and other people in the West consume so many eggs during Easter?
Apart from symbolizing spring and fertility, you weren’t allowed eggs during Lent. If you adhered to the rules of Lent (fasting for 40 days), you didn’t eat any eggs, which meant that when Easter rolled around, there were a lot of eggs on hand! The egg was also seen as a symbol of Jesus’ resurrection as it carried new life within it.
Happy Easter everyone, or Glad påsk as they say in Sweden, God påske as they say in Norway and Denmark.
It’s Easter in Scandinavia, written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (top) © Wikipedia