Glad Påsk

Easter falls late this year - last year it was early. In relation to what, one wonders? In relation to the Spring Equinox, of course! So, in London it'll be easy peasy to hide those eggs in the lush foliage. I, however, am in Sweden where lush is not quite the word to use so I'll hide my eggs indoors, behind the sofa, as usual. Maybe this year's present should have been a little dal horse from Dalahome. I guess they'll have to make do with the little pen trolls of my childhood. I did see Blåsippor - blue anenome, Hepatica - on our afternoon stroll through the woods. Very sweet. I then tried to burn large amounts of dry leaves I spent 3 days raking. Too wet and too windy. Maybe today?

The first Monday of the week is called Blue or Black Monday, the Tuesday White Tuesday and the Wednesday Dymmelonsdag, where a "dymmel" is a wooden sowpod that replace the metal clapper, to give the church bells a muted, more quiet sound. Originally it's actually a verb, meaning, covering with wool and straw to mute, but the effect is the same. They are replaced for Easter Sunday and Monday, to celebrate the resurrection with a clear, strong sound. In Austria and a couple of other Catholic places, the church bells aren't rung at all, as myth tells us that the churchbells fly to Rome, and come back for the Easter Sunday service. In France, the bells also go to Rome, but not to see the pope, but to pick up chocolate for the children!

I never really saw how the Thursday could be grouped with the Christian remembrance of the crucifiction and resurrection, since that's the day all the children get dressed up as witches, give out Easter cards and collect candy and coins in their little kettles. Like Halloween, without the tricks. As mentioned before, we are in Sweden this year so the children will all try this exotic tradition for themselves, together with another large family who have spent the last 5 years in Kuala Lumpur (where no Easter is celebrated officially, and definitely not with witches). There will be 9 very confused little witches and warlocks roaming the streets. I'll post a picture on the blog, I promise!

Rites of spring fall rather naturally on and around the Spring equinox and many traditions have been mingled beyond recognition. One this is sure: The eggs are crucial.
During Lent, the fast, eggs were and for many catholics still are a big no-no, but since hens tend to lay more eggs in spring, the orgy in egg eating has it's natural explanation. These natural symbols of rebirth were given as gifts. often beautifully decorated. The jewellers at Fabergé took it to the extreme, when they created the intricate gold and enamel eggs, first for the Russian Tsar family.

Decorating your own eggs is a popular pass time for little ones and grown ups can certainly enjoy it as well. In Russia they have a similar tradition, though their eggs are incredible works of art, made with oil paints and wax. You can either make a small hole in one end of a raw egg and a slightly bigger one in the other and blow out the white and yolk and after that paint the empty shell. Very carefully!

For children, we suggest boiled eggs and felt tip pens. Gluing feathers and bits of tissue paper on the eggs is also fun. And messy,

Anther egg game from around the world is for example Zwänzgerle, from Switzerland. The idea is to toss a coin and hit but not break a decorated (empty) egg. If the egg breaks, the money goes to the bank and the next person to hit an egg without breaking it will get both - or more! - coins.

There's also the popular egg picking game. Use hardboiled eggs - painted ones if you want and stand opposite the other player. Tap the eggs together and the person whose egg breaks first, looses.

Finally a game that is very much like the "egg walk" is the egg rolling. Instead of even trying to keep the egg on the spoon, roll the egg along a track on a lawn with the help of a stick or a club. Apparently the highlight of the Easter celebrations at The White House. You sure know who to have fun.

The Easter Bunny is coming to get you. Does anybody else find the concept of the Easter bunny slightly frightening? In Australia they agree, mainly because its bitty bunnies are a nuisance and a vermin. Instead they have introduced the Easter Bilby. A Billby is a marsupial, related to the bandicoot and looks a bit like a bunny, if your are really myopic or drunk. The children do not care, as long as they are made out of chocolate. Sounds likely to apply to bunnies here too.

Back to the table, then. As usual food for high holidays such as this, the food is highly symbolic. The lamb many of us eat on Good Friday (Fridays otherwise being fish day for catholics) for the Lamb of God - Agnus Dei - and then eggs in all shapes and sizes for rebirth, spring and celebrations. Any breaking of the fast will mean rich and luxorius foods and the delicacies all have their place at least on my Easter smorgasbord. Herrings and Sill, smoked and cured salmon (Kivik's Ål&Lax rules supreme. It's seriously good stuff) and a really heavy flowerless chocolate cake decorated with little marzipan chicks. It's also important to dress the table for the celebration. Either with new linens or crockery (we have plenty of gorgeous and bright houseware from Nyblom & Kollen) or the Good Stuff You Inherited. Fresh flowers and candle sticks. Breads, muffins and rolls in pretty cases from Kalasform or why not use the littlest ones as vases, for the tiny spring weeds... daisies, violets and light green fern fronds.

If you're really lucky, the weather will be good enough so you can sit outside. Don't you wish your garden/balcony/terrace looked as divine as this? Now you can, as Greenlines Home & Garden again offer 10% off all garden works, be it reworking or just re-thinking, to all you TotallySwedish Newsletter readers. Go on. It'll make a huge difference to how you think about your home. Really! Not in time for Easter lunch, but soon enough,

What else can we tell you about the shop, other than that it's open as usual and that we gave every conceivable Easter item you could ever want, except a real Easter bunny.

Happy Easter!