In Sweden on Maundy Thursday, children dress up as Påskkärringar, Easter witches, and go around every house asking for sweets and giving drawings in return. They wear old women’s clothes with an apron and a handkerchief tied under the chin and paint freckles and red cheeks on their faces. They also carry with them a broom, a basket and an antique coffee pot.
This custom is thought to have originated in the early 1800s, based on a story left over from the witch-hunting period.
According to tradition, all the evil forces in the world were released the moment Judas betrayed Jesus. The devil celebrated this moment with a banquet on the island of Blåkulla that began on Maundy Thursday and ended at Easter. Witches also attended this banquet and flew there with their brooms.
