Okay, here are the answers to my Swedish Easter quiz, then! You did very well, though I noticed that some Nordic non-Swedes sneaked in answers that may have raised the average
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4) That's so interesting, because in Finland that happens on Palm Sunday, and the witches hand out påskris - willow-branches decorated with feathers and silk paper etc - in exchange for (chocolate) candy.
Similar but not the same, then! We have påskris, but no one hands it out, you just make it yourself or buy it. And they're not necessarily made of willow branches, though the church will sometimes hand out (undecorated) willow branches on Palm Sunday. I used to save the buds and pretend they were kittens for my Playmobil figures.
When I was a kid, I always assumed it was called Långfredag because you were supposed to "ha långtråkigt" = be bored. I thought the same thing. There was never anything fun on TV that day.
You can never have too much herring. :-) At midsummer, you'd eat Matjesherring, while at Christmas and Easter you eat any kind of herring you can find. I'm always skipping it on Midsummer, because I can't stand Matjesherring. It's horrible. I like it otherwise, though. It's always interesting to see what new flavors they've come up with this year. Is there anything that doesn't go with herring? :)
The word "skär(a)" means pink, clean, or cut, but in this instance, it comes from the idea that one should cleanse oneself before Easter. I thought it was in rememberence of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the last supper. I could be wrong though, it's been a while since my church days. :)
I'm always skipping it on Midsummer, because I can't stand Matjesherring. It's horrible.
Matjesherring was actually the first kind I learned to eat - I hid it in a lot of sourcream and potatoes. :-) It took me quite a while to work my way up to mustard herring.
Is there anything that doesn't go with herring? :)
Banana comes to mind.
I thought it was in rememberence of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the last supper.
You know, you could be right! There are even churches where people wash each other's feet on either Thursday or Friday, which weirds me out on a physical level.
Having just returned from a Scandanavian country, I got to experience some of the Easter Traditions. In Iceland apparently most people take off holy week and go on vacation. Reykjavik was relatively quite.
We ran into a lot of confusion about what would be open and what would be closed on Thursday and Friday. Most people thought that most things didn't close down completely any more on Thursdays. It was sort of true. The information center, museums and tours were running. The shops in the center of town were all closed down, but the mall was closed in the morning and open in the afternoon -- which still boggles us Americans. If you're going to close all day Friday and part of Thursday, it seemed to us that you'd be open Thursday morning and close up Thursday afternoon. It seemed to me that there must be a vestigial reason to close on Thurday morning
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In Iceland apparently most people take off holy week and go on vacation.
Around here, it depends. The schools are out. I took the week off, but I had to do it on my own (they're not all holidays). Shops are usually open Monday-Wednesday, a bit shorter on Thursday - though you're right about that, it should be an earlier closing time, not closed mornings. Thursday service is usually in the evening anyway. And Friday service in the afternoon. Not that I went to either, this year.
Easter eggs here are mostly made of cardboard with candy or some other fun stuff inside. There's often chocolate-shaped candy but that can't be opened. Well, except for Kinder Eggs, but they're a round-the-year treat.
We had herring for breakfast, lunch and dinner while we were there, so I'm not sure if it's a special food for Easter in Iceland.
Ha! Yeah, I can imagine. I think Icelanders are even more nuts about herring than Swedes.
Likewise, lamb is the everyday food there along with any kind of seafood.Lamb is pretty rare and expensive in Sweden. We're
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I thought the same thing. There was never anything fun on TV that day.
You can never have too much herring. :-) At midsummer, you'd eat Matjesherring, while at Christmas and Easter you eat any kind of herring you can find.
I'm always skipping it on Midsummer, because I can't stand Matjesherring. It's horrible. I like it otherwise, though. It's always interesting to see what new flavors they've come up with this year. Is there anything that doesn't go with herring? :)
The word "skär(a)" means pink, clean, or cut, but in this instance, it comes from the idea that one should cleanse oneself before Easter.
I thought it was in rememberence of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the last supper. I could be wrong though, it's been a while since my church days. :)
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Matjesherring was actually the first kind I learned to eat - I hid it in a lot of sourcream and potatoes. :-) It took me quite a while to work my way up to mustard herring.
Is there anything that doesn't go with herring? :)
Banana comes to mind.
I thought it was in rememberence of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the last supper.
You know, you could be right! There are even churches where people wash each other's feet on either Thursday or Friday, which weirds me out on a physical level.
Reply
Having just returned from a Scandanavian country, I got to experience some of the Easter Traditions. In Iceland apparently most people take off holy week and go on vacation. Reykjavik was relatively quite.
We ran into a lot of confusion about what would be open and what would be closed on Thursday and Friday. Most people thought that most things didn't close down completely any more on Thursdays. It was sort of true. The information center, museums and tours were running. The shops in the center of town were all closed down, but the mall was closed in the morning and open in the afternoon -- which still boggles us Americans. If you're going to close all day Friday and part of Thursday, it seemed to us that you'd be open Thursday morning and close up Thursday afternoon. It seemed to me that there must be a vestigial reason to close on Thurday morning ( ... )
Reply
Around here, it depends. The schools are out. I took the week off, but I had to do it on my own (they're not all holidays). Shops are usually open Monday-Wednesday, a bit shorter on Thursday - though you're right about that, it should be an earlier closing time, not closed mornings. Thursday service is usually in the evening anyway. And Friday service in the afternoon. Not that I went to either, this year.
Easter eggs here are mostly made of cardboard with candy or some other fun stuff inside. There's often chocolate-shaped candy but that can't be opened. Well, except for Kinder Eggs, but they're a round-the-year treat.
We had herring for breakfast, lunch and dinner while we were there, so I'm not sure if it's a special food for Easter in Iceland.
Ha! Yeah, I can imagine. I think Icelanders are even more nuts about herring than Swedes.
Likewise, lamb is the everyday food there along with any kind of seafood.Lamb is pretty rare and expensive in Sweden. We're ( ... )
Reply
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