Swedish Easter is part church calendar, part witch folklore and a great deal of candy. Here is what you will see, what to do when a small witch knocks, and which days shops, transport and the alcohol monopoly close.
When you need this
- Your trip falls in late March or April
- You are staying in a residential area when children may knock on the door
- You want to buy wine or beer over the Easter weekend
- You are planning a ski trip or a mountain visit around Easter
- You are invited to an Easter meal
Easter 2027: which days are holidays
Five days carry Easter names, but only three of them are public holidays in Swedish law. Långfredagen (Good Friday), påskdagen (Easter Sunday) and annandag påsk (Easter Monday) are red days. Skärtorsdagen (Maundy Thursday) and påskafton (Holy Saturday) are ordinary days.
| Day | 2027 | 2028 | In law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maundy Thursday (skärtorsdagen) | 25 March | 13 April | Ordinary day |
| Good Friday (långfredagen) | 26 March | 14 April | Public holiday |
| Holy Saturday (påskafton) | 27 March | 15 April | Ordinary day, but the main family day |
| Easter Sunday (påskdagen) | 28 March | 16 April | Public holiday |
| Easter Monday (annandag påsk) | 29 March | 17 April | Public holiday |
Maundy Thursday stopped being a public holiday with the calendar reform of 1772. Even so, many workplaces work only half the day, and it is the day most Swedes buy their Easter food. Sweden’s Institute for Language and Folklore (Isof) reports that over 80% more food is bought than on other Thursdays, so expect full supermarkets.
Good Friday used to be the quietest day of the year: until 1969, films, dances and public entertainment were banned by law. Today it is simply a day off.
Påskkärringar: the witches at the door
In older folk belief the days before Easter, especially Maundy Thursday, were when witches flew to Blåkulla, a mythical mountain, to feast with the devil. People painted tar crosses on barn doors and hid anything that could serve as a broomstick.
In the 1800s young people in western Sweden dressed up as påskkärringar (“Easter hags”) and went round the farms playing tricks. During the 1900s the custom spread across the country, the dressers-up got younger and the fright went out of it. Today it is a tradition for small children, who dress as sweet, friendly witches.
What that means if you are staying somewhere with neighbors:
- A child knocks, usually on Maundy Thursday or, in western Sweden, on Holy Saturday. Some go out on several days.
- They hand you an Easter letter or drawing (påskbrev).
- You give sweets in return. Keep a bowl of wrapped candy by the door.
Many towns now hold Easter parades as a supervised alternative to door-knocking, and Visby on Gotland has for many years held an Easter march. Look up the town you are staying in.
Påskris: feathers on birch twigs
The feathered bunches in vases and on doorsteps are påskris: birch twigs decorated with colored feathers. They may descend from old customs of switching one another with birch rods during Lent and on Good Friday. The feathers added color at a time of year with no flowers or leaves. Several towns decorate giant påskträd (Easter trees) in public places.
One practical catch: Isof notes that pollen season is usually in full swing at Easter, which is a problem for anyone allergic to birch when twigs are brought indoors. Warn an allergic guest, or keep the twigs outside.
The Easter table, eggs and påskmust
For most households the Easter meal is on Holy Saturday, not Sunday. The påskbord is a buffet close to the Christmas one, with far more eggs.
| On the table | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Eggs — boiled, halved with shrimp or roe, in salads | Forbidden during the Lenten fast, and hens start laying again around Easter |
| Pickled herring, salmon | Fish was allowed in Lent and stayed on the feast table |
| Jansson’s temptation, meatballs, small sausages, potatoes | Shared with the Christmas buffet |
| Lamb | Became common Easter food only in the 1900s |
| Beer, schnapps, påskmust | The drinks |
Påskmust is the Easter bottling of the soft drink sold as julmust at Christmas: both are made from the same essence, and only the label differs. If you missed it in December, this is your chance.
Children get påskägg, cardboard or paper eggs filled with candy, usually on Holy Saturday. Isof suggests that is because Holy Saturday is always a Saturday, the day many Swedish children get sweets anyway. The Easter hare arrived from Germany on postcards around 1900 but never displaced the Easter rooster, which you will see on cards and decorations everywhere.
What is open over Easter
Easter is the friendliest of the Swedish holidays for visitors. Two weekday holidays sit around a weekend, and public transport, museums and attractions mostly run. Public transport follows a Sunday timetable on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and a normal weekday service on Maundy Thursday. Bank branches close on the holidays.
Two things do catch visitors:
- Alcohol. Systembolaget, the state alcohol retailer, closes on every public holiday and every Sunday. Over Easter that leaves one half-day window in the middle (see the table below). Buy by Maundy Thursday or Saturday morning, or go without until Tuesday.
- Museums that close on Mondays. Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, for example, closes every Monday and publishes no special Easter hours. Check before planning a visit on Easter Monday.
Skiing at Easter
Easter falls inside the ski season, and in 2027 it comes early. Several smaller ski areas run until 4 April 2027 and Åre’s main area until 2 May, so the Easter weekend of 26–29 March is well inside the season. In a late-Easter year such as 2028 (14–17 April), resorts that close in early April may already be shut, so check the resort’s last day. Easter is also a school-holiday period, though the break is set locally: Stockholm’s 2027 påsklov is the week after Easter, 30 March – 2 April. See skiing in Sweden for resorts and season dates.
Regional customs
- Western Sweden keeps the older layer. Witches are tied to Holy Saturday, Easter bonfires (påskeldar) are lit that evening to drive off trolls and witches, and in Bohuslän and Västergötland neighborhoods compete to collect discarded Christmas trees for the fire. Easter letters are still handed out there.
- Gotland once had dressed-up Good Friday switch-bearers (långfredagskäringar).
- Swedish-speaking Finland has Easter witches who go round on Holy Saturday.
- The mountains treat Easter as the tail end of the ski season rather than spring.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Easter 2027 | Thursday 25 – Monday 29 March; holidays on 26, 28 and 29 March |
| Systembolaget, Easter 2026 | Thursday ordinary hours; Good Friday closed; Holy Saturday open until 15:00; Easter Sunday and Monday closed |
| Systembolaget, Easter 2027 | Not yet published (checked 2026-09-25); the holiday closures follow a fixed pattern. Local deviations can occur |
| Public transport | Sunday timetable on the three holidays |
| Påskkärring parades | Free; check the town you are staying in |
| Ski lift passes | Set per resort and season; check the resort |
FAQ
When is Easter in Sweden in 2027?
Easter Sunday 2027 is 28 March. Good Friday (26 March) and Easter Monday (29 March) are public holidays, so the long weekend runs Friday to Monday. Maundy Thursday (25 March) and Holy Saturday (27 March) are ordinary days in law, though many people finish work early on Thursday. In 2028 Easter falls later, on 14–17 April.
What are påskkärringar?
Small children dressed as friendly Easter witches who knock on neighbors’ doors and hand over a drawing or Easter card in exchange for sweets. The custom comes from old beliefs that witches flew to Blåkulla before Easter. In the 1800s it was mostly a western Swedish prank by young people in disguise; during the 1900s it spread nationwide and became a tradition for small children.
Why do Swedes put feathers on birch twigs at Easter?
The feathered twigs are called påskris. They may descend from old customs of switching one another with birch rods during Lent and on Good Friday; the colored feathers brought color at a time of year with no flowers or leaves. Today they stand in vases indoors and on doorsteps, and some towns decorate whole trees.
Is Systembolaget open at Easter?
Only on Holy Saturday. In 2026 the state alcohol retailer kept ordinary hours on Maundy Thursday, closed on Good Friday, opened until 15:00 on Holy Saturday, and closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. The 2027 hours had not been published by September 2026, but the holiday closures follow a fixed pattern. Local deviations can occur.
What do Swedes eat at Easter?
Most households eat their Easter meal on Holy Saturday as a buffet close to the Christmas one: pickled herring, salmon, Jansson’s temptation, meatballs, small sausages, potatoes and often lamb, with eggs in every form. Eggs mark the end of the old Lenten fast. Drinks include beer, schnapps and påskmust, a spiced soft drink.
What is påskmust?
The Easter name for the dark, sweet soft drink sold as julmust at Christmas. Both are made from the same essence; only the label on the bottle differs. It appears in shops around Easter and is drunk with the Easter buffet. The finished drink contains about 0.3% alcohol from the flavoring, below the 0.5% limit for alcohol-free.
Can you ski in Sweden at Easter?
Usually, yes, especially when Easter is early. In 2027 Easter is 26–29 March, while several smaller ski areas run until 4 April and Åre’s main area until 2 May. When Easter falls late, as in 2028, some resorts that close in early April may already be shut. Season dates are published by each resort in autumn.
Related guides
- Swedish public holidays — the full list and what closes on each
- Systembolaget opening hours — holiday closures across the year
- Skiing in Sweden — resorts, season dates and school-break weeks
- Valborg — the next spring celebration, a month later
- Saturday candy — the weekly habit behind Easter-egg Saturday
Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: Isof, Nordiska museet, Sveriges Riksdag, Västtrafik, Systembolaget, Nationalmuseum, Stockholms stad, ski-resort season pages and Äkta vara — full register in this topic’s source file. Systembolaget’s Easter hours are the published 2026 hours; the 2027 hours had not been published at verification. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.