Today is the Thursday before Easter. Around the world, you’ll hear it called Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday, or even Thursday of Mysteries (I like that one). But in Sweden, it’s known as Skärtorsdag, a name that harks back to ancient language and translates to “Clean Thursday.” This is the day marking the Last Supper and the famous foot-washing moment when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.
However, in Sweden, Easter Thursday is all about witches, candy and a blue mountain. Confused yet? I don’t blame you.
How Does Sweden Compare to the Rest of the World on Easter Thursday?
In many churches, the Maundy Thursday is solemn and symbolic. Church services end with the stripping of everything in the sanctuary. In France, all the bells go quiet and there is silence in the church. In Malta, there’s a unique tradition of visiting seven churches.
And then there’s Sweden, where young children dress up as witches (påskkärringar) and go knocking on doors in search of candy.
Which one of these doesn’t belong?
A Witchy Tradition
According to Swedish folklore, the Thursday before Easter is the night when witches fly off to Blåkulla (the Blue Mountain) to meet the Devil and party. Naturally, they need sustenance for their journey, so they stop by local homes to collect candy and coins along the way, I guess.
Young children dress up as witches, which to my eyes look more like “adorable old hags with scarves” than broomstick-wielding sorceresses. With painted freckles on their cheeks, they go door-to-door offering hand-drawn Easter cards in exchange for sweets. At least, that’s the polite version. The greedier ones skip the card-making effort and go straight for the candy demand.
For the witches of folklore, the night ends at Blåkulla. For my kids, it always ended in a sugar-fueled stumble to a silver bean bag, where they collapsed in a candy-induced coma. Not quite the legendary flight to the Devil’s mountain, but close enough.
And yes, I do realize this sounds quite a lot like Halloween. In fact, as Halloween has not been recognized as a Swedish holiday until about the last 30 years, many older people complain that the kids should save dressing scary and going to people’s houses demanding candy on the proper day – Easter!
So while many kids in the U.S. will be attending silent, sad church services tonight, mine will be dressed up in scarves with freckles painted on their faces going around the building collecting candy. To my friends in the U.S. – better not let your children read this or they’ll all be immigrating.
Sweden’s Bonus Easter Monday
As if the Easter festivities weren’t indulgent enough, we Swedes get Easter Monday off as well. Why? No one really knows, but no one questions a public holiday. Maybe it’s to reflect on and recover from all the candy and food consumed over the weekend?
It’s charming, so I say just roll with it
Easter Thursday (Skärtorsdag) is a day mostly spend in old folklore and modern-day sugar rushes. While much of the world spends this day in quiet reflection, Sweden turns it into a delightful mix of whimsy, witches, and candy-filled chaos.
But whether you’re attending church services, visiting seven churches, or painting freckles on your cheeks and hunting for candy, we can all agree on one thing – this should totally be a full day off and not just a half-day. Get with the program, Sweden!