Ep. 112-Easter-Ween? How A Devilish Witch Panic Turned Into Easter Trick Or Treating

Witches at Easter sounds like a joke until you hear the Swedish folklore behind it. We’re taking you to Sweden’s Holy Week, where people once believed witches flew through the night to Blåkulla, a mythical hill tied to the devil, feasts, and an upside-down world where normal rules collapse. What starts as eerie legend quickly turns into something more human: a snapshot of how communities tried to explain illness, loss, and bad luck when fear was easier than uncertainty.

We also dig into the historical weight behind the stories, including the 1600s Swedish witch trials and why the panic felt so real that families locked doors, hid brooms, and lit fires for protection. Then we trace the other side of Easter’s roots, from Ostara and the spring equinox to the way eggs and hares moved from pagan symbols of fertility and protection into the modern Easter basket.

The best part is the transformation. Today in Sweden and Finland, kids dress up as Easter witches (påskkärringar) with scarves, rosy cheeks, and tiny broomsticks, then go door to door trading drawings for candy and coins. It’s basically Easter trick-or-treating, and it’s one of the clearest examples of how dark folklore can evolve into a playful tradition while keeping small echoes like bonfires and feather decorations.

If you love folklore, unusual holiday history, and the weird origins behind everyday traditions, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs “Easter ween” in their life, and leave us a review. What’s the strangest holiday tradition you’ve ever heard of?

Transcript

Witches Show Up At Easter

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When we think of witches we usually think of Halloween pumpkins, broomsticks, black cats, and haunted houses. But what if I told you there's a witch tradition that comes alive at Easter? This is Hold My Sweet Tea. I'm Holly. Easter has a ween. I'm Pearl. It does. But it's in it's in Sweden.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

A Swedish ween.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

A Swedish ween. It's like Swedish fish, but with a ween.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

But not. But not.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Welcome to an unhinged episode. Oh my sweet tea. I think all of our episodes are unhinged.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

I was gonna say, we try, I mean, we're trying to lighten it up here today.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Yeah. I was working on a serious one, but I was like, you know what? It's Easter and hello. Easter has a ween. It has a wean. I I was very shooketh because I found this and I'm like, how did I not know about this? I thought I knew all the witch things. You did not. Apparently, I did not. So here we are in Sweden. Welcome to my Sweden. Right. My louder Sweden. If you haven't checked out the Meantime podcast, please go do so. It's hilarious. Louder sneezing.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

My my weeden sneedin'. Right.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

So I guess we'll we'll jump right into this now that I have everybody's attention. So centuries ago in Sweden, people believe that witches, also known there as poshe, pos heckor, pos hexor. Let me do that slowly. I'm sorry, Swedish listeners, if I butchered that. I'm really, really sorry. So these witches would fly through the night on broomsticks to a mystical hill called Blokula. Hmm. And what did they do at Blokula? They would meet the devil. What? And this just wasn't a story to scare children, which I think most of these stories were told to scare children. Right. But people actually feared it deeply. So we're gonna take you on a journey through this eerie, fascinating tradition, which are still kind of practiced today. They people do things with this tradition. So I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you about it. So the real real fear that they inspired and how this dark folklore eventually transformed into playful traditions, like costumes, candy, and even chocolate bunnies. Costumes. Costumes and candy. Intriguing. Sounds like Halloween to me. Sounds like a ween. Right? One of the weens. So the story begins in the 17th century, when fear of witchcraft was widespread in Sweden. Communities were tightly knit, superstitions ran deep, and the idea that witches could wield real supernatural power were terrifying. And I mean, think about it. Witches are a symbol of Halloween and they're feared, but what do they do the rest of the year?

SPEAKER_01 4:59

The same stuff. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Like, do we not have all holiday witches? I'm sure we do.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Are you a ween witch or a Christmas witch? Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

All of the above. So according to legend, during Holy Week, especially on Maund Day, and it's spelled M-A-U-N-D-Y. So Maund Day, Thursday, witches would gather at Blokula, and this was their witch's Sabbath, a place outside of the normal world where the devil supposedly presided over feasts and rituals. People believed that witches could fly there on their broomstick. So it was it wasn't a place that people could go to. It was like this mythical place that witches could get to on their broomsticks.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Limited access.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

So broom parking only.

What Witches Fly On

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Mm-hmm. But not only broomsticks. And this is this is the part that I laughed at out loud while I was researching this. They could fly their own broomsticks, poles, animals, or any object that could carry them through the night. Some tales even claimed witches could abduct children and bring them along to this chaotic upside down world. In the upside down? Yes. So now we're getting into stranger things. Yes. So like I said, they could they could go get a cow and fly there on the cow. They could grab a whatever and fly there on it. It wasn't just limited to broomsticks. A vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner. Yes, Mary. A vacuum cleaner. So the fear was tangible. Families barred doors, hid brooms, lit fires to protect themselves. It wasn't just storytelling. This was a reflection of real social anxiety, heightened by the wave of witch trials that swept through Sweden. Thousands were accused, hundreds executed, and fear shaped entire communities. So imagine a dark, wind-wipped night, doors locked, fires burning, and neighbors whispering about witches who might appear at any moment. That's the world these legends grew out of.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Crazy.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Yeah. So Swedish witch trials in the 1600s were particularly brutal. Entire villages could be swept into hysteria, often over accusations based on hearsay or unexplained events. Missing items, sudden illnesses, or strange occurrences were sometimes attributed to witches. Like, you know, Sarah got the chicken pox. She's a witch.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Of course. Right?

SPEAKER_00 8:27

It's always Sarah. Poor Sarah. I know.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Without an H.

Witch Trials And Community Panic

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Because H's are ill. So children were warned to stay close to home during Easter week. Adults feared walking alone, even simple ordinary actions could be seen as tempting fate. The witch's gathering place became a powerful symbol. It represented disorder, rebellion against natural law, and the presence of supernatural danger. People imagined witches feasting, dancing, and performing strange rituals under the devil's watchful eye, a vivid tale of chaos threatening the safety of ordinary life. And yet, even in this fear, there was a strange fascination. Stories of witches flying through the night captured the imagination, and these tales were passed down for generations. Glokula itself is a mysterious place in the stories. Legends describe it as a world turned upside down. The young become old, the weak gain power, and rules of society are completely reversed. It's a place of magic, danger, and transformation, the perfect setting for a legend that mixes fear and fascination. People told these stories not just to frighten, but to make sense of the unknown, a sudden, like I said, illness or disappearance, things that couldn't otherwise be explained. Glocula became part of the cultural imagination, a symbol of liminal space, neither here nor there, where ordinary rules don't apply. But not all Easter traditions were dark. Around the same time that stories of witches that flew through the night, other seasonal customs were emerging. Long before Christian Easter celebrations, people in northern Europe celebrated Ostara, a pagan festival marking the spring equinox. Ostara was about fertility, renewal, and rebirth of the land. Eggs were symbols of new life and protection, and hares or rabbits represented fertility and abundance.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

I'm glad you uh made sure you said hairs or rabbits. So I didn't think it was like the hair. Hair, exactly. That's why it's because I'm that person.

Ostara Roots Behind Eggs And Hares

SPEAKER_00 11:12

You were like, hair represents fertility and abundance. I'm the dummy. Right. That's okay. That was like me saying Dawn. Yes. D-O-N or D-A-W-N. But over time, as most pagan symbols, they became intertwined with Easter Christian, you know, beliefs, and on top of the Christian, like resurrection narrative, the egg symbol became rebirth, life emerging from darkness. So, you know, the the stories of Jesus, you know, rising from the dead and coming out of the the cave or whatever he was in. So that was, you know, the egg symbol, but it was already a symbol of new life and protection in pagan traditions. Um the hare, or rabbit, eventually evolved into the Easter bunny delivering candy and joy instead of superstition and fear. So all of these things, you know, intertwine with each other. But what's truly fascinating about is how like terrifying tales of poshexor evolved into a playful tradition. Today, children in Sweden and Finland, and I want to go there so bad now, dress up as Easter witches on Monday, Thursday, or Holy Saturday, they wear old scarves, aprons, they paint their cheeks rosy, and sometimes carry little broomsticks. And I'm like, I want to see that so bad. It sounds so cool. I looked up pictures of them and I was like, oh my god. Instead of terrorizing villages, though, these little witches go door to door exchanging handmade drawings or small greetings for candy and coins. So it's essentially Easter trick-or-treating. It's Easter ween. Yes. I am forever. It's it's forever Easter ween now. The broomsticks, once a feared instrument of dark magic, is now a just a playful prop. And while the stories of Blokula remain in folklore, the witches themselves are harmless, cheerful symbols of spring's creativity. Even today, some communities maintain small echoes of the old protective rituals. And I'm sure, you know, that's that's with a lot of places. They still do these little little things. And even in the Christian religion, when, you know, things that are taken from all of these legend, like old folklore and legends and pagan traditions, they still do little things like putting up a Christmas tree, hunting Easter eggs. Um bonfires are lit on Easter Sunday in certain towns in in Sweden to ward off evil spirits, echoing the fires that once protected homes from the witches. Feathers are used in decorations, a nod to flight and the witch's legendary journey. Painted eggs, once used as charms for protection or fertility, have now become brightly colored symbols of life and joy. Chocolate bunnies, another evolution of the hare's rabbit symbolism, represent abundance, prosperity, and the playful side of spring. And I'm gonna tell you, my favorite chocolate bunny to get when I was a kid was the big-eared bunny. It was like mostly ears and a small body. Like my mom got me one of those every year. I was like, I want the big-eared bunny big old hollow ears. Yes, big old hollow ears. And they used to taste really good, and now like that type of chocolate is gross. But they they have the Ghirardelli ones, and those are good. Or the um Lindor chocolate. I would love some Swedish chocolate. That would be amazing. I bet their chocolate brandies are superb. But it's it's a beautiful layering of meaning. The dark fears of the past now coexist with celebration, sweetness, and joy. A reminder that these traditions evolved while preserving traces of their history. So this Easter, when you see chocolate bunnies, painted eggs, or even a child dressed in a little scarf and apron carrying a broomstick, I'm gonna cry. I think that's so cute. Remember the story behind it. Centuries ago, people believed witches flew to an upside-down world testing courage and wit and meeting with the devil. So today the broomsticks instead, you know, carry like the meaning of like candy instead of evil intent and just magical protection with the eggs. It's it's just such a cool way of how it's evolved. But I think we should implement Easter trigger treating in America 100%.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Yeah, that's cute. Yeah, especially if they come dressed up all cute.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

So but again, stranger danger. Yeah. Ruins it every time.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

I think that makes Easter one of like the most fascinating holidays in folklore.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Like, yeah, that's really cool. I I I didn't know either.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Because you, you know, you you focus on holidays like Christmas and and Halloween, but Easter kind of gets pushed to the side because it's in Christian religion, like this resurrection holiday, and this is the Christian meaning behind it, and everybody goes to church, and everybody, well, not everybody, but Christian people go to church and they celebrate Easter with their beliefs, but there is a darker belief tied to it and darker folklore.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

I think there is for everything, honestly. It all came, it all came from somewhere. And and most of the time they're like, no, it didn't.

Modern Easter Witches In Sweden

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Yeah, no, it was never like that. Oh my god this was this is only tied to Jesus. No, it was older than Jesus, and there were and I would think everybody who doesn't agree with most of the Christian religion would agree with me that it's mainly from pagan religion and rituals and old folklore. Roots, yeah, the roots, the roots, the roots, yes, absolutely the roots.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

So if you live in Sweden and you'd like to gift us some chocolate.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Oh my gosh, yes, please.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Reach out, we'll tell you where to send it.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Yes, we'll give you the address. That would be amazing. Um, but you know, let us know if um if where you're at in Sweden or Finland, if you if people there still practice the Easter trigger treating, pretty much. Um yeah, I don't know what else to call it. Right, Easter ween. The ween of Easter. And we hope that everybody got to, you know, spend some time, whatever you do celebrate on Easter, Ostara, whatever. I hope you got to spend some time having a, you know, good time with your family and friends.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

And today the beginning of the astrological cycle, the new beginning, the rebirth. It is April 1st, April Fool's Day. No tricks of today, hopefully. No, but yeah, I'm sure you'll see them all over the internet and go, mm-mm, that's not true.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Yeah. But it's that day where I ignore the internet because I don't believe anything. Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Because people be trying to trick you all day.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

And we're too smart for that.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

This is not an April Fool's podcast.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Not at all.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

Even if we are recording on April Fool's, right? But uh we weren't kidding. This is this was for real.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Absolutely. But it is the the start of the um astrological calendar, if you will, because Aries is the beginning of that, and we start with rebirth and renewal, and now we can and if you're my daughter, you're gonna be uh having some birth. Yes, very soon. She's having she's having a little spicy Aries child, yeah. And we're here for it. Baby on the way. Couple more weeks. I've already tracked out her her moon sign and everything, and she needs to have it between the eighth and the tenth. Because we don't need no Gemini moon. Sorry, Gemini. All right, but y'all do be crazy sometimes. Love you, meaning. Yeah, but you can uh, you know, and if you have like a tradition or a story or anything like that, send it to us for sweet tea after dark because we haven't got a story this week yet.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

No, no. Looks like I'll be uh using up the one I've been saving in my back pocket. Yeah. That comes from myself. Um, since we have not received one just yet. This is our first time after the first time. I know.

SPEAKER_00 22:03

Our first time after the first time. Everybody's like, huh, somebody else will send it. No, they will not. You need to send it. It's your turn. It's your responsibility.

unknown 22:14

That's fine.

Bonfires, Feathers, And Chocolate Bunnies

SPEAKER_01 22:15

But yeah, where can they send that to? They can send it to hold my sweet tea podcast at gmail.com. That's also where you send your message about donating chocolate.

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Yes. Swedish Swedish chocolate. Yes. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yes. And then we will message you back with a shipping address. Like, yay!

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Swedish chocolate. Yeah, and send it now before it gets hot here because in the summertime it's a no-go. It'll totally melt.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

But we'll still eat it. I mean, yeah, we're gonna stick it in the fridge and eat it. It's gonna be more like deformed, but we're gonna eat it anyway. I'm not gonna pass up chocolate. That's my favorite. I will uh be like, it is a sugar day today.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yep. And we need a Swedish sugar daddy.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

You can also send those applications to hold my sweet tea gmail.com.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

We're there for it. But we have to move there. You can't move here.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Or we could just talk Patty Salzetta into becoming our sugar mama. Absolutely. Absolutely. She made really great theme music. I don't know about her chocolate making capabilities, but we could ask.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

I'm sure she she's a multi-talented woman. Yes. I'm sure she could handle it. But as always, hold my sweet tea is a drunken bee production. And you guys remember to stay safe out there. Go Easter weenin'. And if people open the door and go, what the hell are you doing? You're like, Happy Easter ween! Happy Easter ween. And you're dressed like a little old lady, and you're I am here for chocolate bunnies. Right. And be like, this is what they do in Sweden. And just because we're dipping doesn't mean you can't keep sipping. Bye.