Eastern in Dalsland:

When I was a kid:

In school and at home we made Easter decoration of a sprig of twigs decked with colored feathers.

Several weeks before Eastern, all kids started to draw Eastern-letters.

What’s that? We got a lot of blank papers from the papermill and draw

Easter witches, Easter cocks, Easter eggs and Easter chickens.

I remember one-year drawing 40 letters. We saved the best every year to

make copies next year. We handmade copies with the original on a window

and a blank on top. Than we had to change and add things to get them unique.

Most kids used watercolors, for the painting. I think some of the paintings were

real good as many kids got help from elder sister and brothers or parents.

There was anyway a competition to have the best looking letter, without any price.

We filled the letters with candy often on Good Friday, as this was a real boring day.

You were not allowed to do anything fun.

On Easter Saturday all kids was dressed an Easter witches or Easter fellow?,

painted in the face, delivering the Eater letters to other kids around.

We tried to sneak into their house, throuh the letter, shouting ” Happy Eastern” ,

”Glad Påsk” in Swedish and run as fast as you could.

You had to beware as you could be caught and if you did,

 you had to give the ”catcher” some of your candy.

 On Easter Saturday we had eggs painted in patterns, shrimp omelet,

chanterelle omelet, eggs halves with herring, shrimp and caviar, meatballs,

small frying sausages, potatoes and eggs, and more eggs.  

In the evening when it got dark we went to the Fire.

A huge fire everyone had collected sprigs and wood for, for several weeks.

There was a lot of people and a lot of firecrackers and rockets.

You could see the fireworks for hours from other places around when the sky was clear.

On Easter Day we often was at visit somewhere.

We had a lot of candy and crackers,

but were not allowed to use the crackers until the day after Easter Monday.

Today:

Almost the same, but you are allowed to have fun on Good Friday, use crackers

Any day. You don’t draw the letters, they are made in China and you only paint them,

and use much less candy in them.

In Bohuslän I remember they didn’t use the Easter Letters. So my cousins

Ulla, Kjell and Anette only got a few from me and Grandma, Sture, Ella and Elof.

Back