Sunday 20 April 2014

The witch in me.

So now, about something entirely different..but still the same in a way, Happy Easter to all! 

As a Scandinavian school girl and a member of a pentecost revival family I couldn't escape the notion of Easter as a very religious occasion..BUT, as I did grow up in a culture where religion and superstition still mingle quite freely there is something else that has always defined my Easters. Witches.

Of all things I always liked Easter the best. Swedish children dress up as witches on holy saturday and go house to house collecting sweets in a brass coffee pot...and then we eat the chocolate, painted eggs, put feathers on sticks and head out to see the bonfire. And I used to love that.
According to Scandinavian folk believes witches fly on broomsticks and cows to Blåkulla on maundy thursday for their feast with the devil (häxsabbat) to then come back on saturday...hence the fire. And yes, I told this story to my 5 year old. We did swap the fire with an egg-hunt though.. have to acclimatize. 

But here comes the connection to my dollhouse building: In the 1600's this turned into quite the panic all over Europe. So to portray my 1647 world in the most fun way possible I am going to have to throw in a witch! I must admit, the witch hunts have always fascinated me. There is something appealing yet horrifying about a fairy tale coming true..
I suppose spending the summers at my grandparents in the country did make me partial to superstition and folk believes.. I have after all feared näcken, herded cows and watched my granny cook on the stove to the sound of my granddads accordion music. And the jumping in the hay...
  I'm slightly tempted to make her into a Scandinavian witch..but I think this one will have to be English for the accuracy of it. Shame...maybe next time.

I got inspired to make my witch when I improvised some creative witch making with my Lus the other day..now I just have to decide what kind of witch I'll be making...

Just in case I'll lose it later, my witch documentaries! 


Ps. as I'm having a day of restlessness and scattered thoughts, this is my current favourite furniture! always wanted one of these...








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