It's the witch and not the rabbit who comes knocking

Easter. A time when we look forward to 4 days off in a row. A time to tend the garden, mow the lawn and clear away the refuse; paint the boat, wash the windows, or play street hockey with the kids.

That is, of course, for those who aren't interested in the Church and it's message.

For the Swedish folk in the north of the country, Easter is a time for the last of the winter sports. Many squeeze in a week of skiing in the Swedish mountains.

For the rest of us in this beautiful but chilly land, we are stamping the ground to be sure Spring has finally arrived. When it comes, it comes quickly with summer hot on it's heels.

The traditions of easter in Sweden include little girls dressing up as Easter witches. They go from door to door begging for candy or other treats. This habit is based on the tradition that Easter was the time when witches flew to the devil. You can also hear fireworks being set off on Easter night and see huge great bonfires being lit - again a relic of witchcraft whereby fires were believed to keep the witches away.

No one single Swedish child has ever heard of the sweet, cuddly Easter bunny, who leaves Easter eggs hidden in the garden on Easter sunday morning. More's the pity.

It's the tradition I grew up with, and not one I'm willing to give up so easily for the sake of a witch in my adopted country. After all, stories of easter bunnies are far more cute and kiddy-like than those of a witch - even though this witch is apparently quite nice and not at all wicked.

The custom of eating huge amounts of eggs dates back to the time when Lent prohibited us from eating eggs for 6 weeks. Come Easter time, eggs were in abundance and so an obvious menu choice. The dying of eggs is still widespread, traditionally done with onion peel, corn and birch leaves that are tied to the eggs before they are boiled. This way of decorating - charming though it may be - has been nearly completely replaced by the ready-to-go shop-bought variety of dyes and transfers that my kids and I love - the results are instant and colorful.

The food consumed at Easter has a religious connection in other ways too. Fish is consumed on Good Friday, as even long after the Reformation, Swedes still kept Good Friday as a fasting - that is, meatless - day.

And Easter Sunday wouldn't be complete without the traditional lamb. Connected of course to the Bible story of the first Passover celebrated by the Irsraelites in Egypt. Although lambing time traditionally came at New Year, we in modern times make sure that good old refridgeration makes possible fresh lamb for dinner a few months later too. And honestly, this is about the only time of year I bother to cook lamb. It always tastes fantastic and I love mint sauce, which leads me to wonder why I don't eat it more often. (Could it be I need a crash course on how to cook the perfect leg of lamb?) I don't see it on menus much in Sweden, and I rarely am served lamb when dining at friends, so I guess it's far less popular than in the States or particlarly in Britain, where I'm sure that a good old lamb roast graces the Sunday table of many families.

Now, back to that elusive Easter bunny...