Swedish word of the day: skärtorsdagen
Today, let's talk about the Swedish word for the day when witches fly away to dance with the devil.
Yep.
The word is skärtorsdagen, which can be more simply translated as Maundy Thursday – the Thursday before Easter. In 2024, that's March 28th.
Torsdag is the Swedish word for Thursday. Like the English word and most of the Nordic languages, this comes from the Norse God Thor, in contrast to Romance languages where the name for Thursday usually derives from the Latin dies Jovis (Jupiter's Day).
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According to folklore, Thursday was the day of the week most closely associated with witchcraft and magic.
Maundy Thursday in particular was known as the day when witches would fly off to the mythical Blåkulla to dance with the devil. Swedes would often go so far as hiding their household brooms so they couldn't be stolen by any witches, and use other methods to stop them entering their homes, such as painting crosses on the door.
Since around the 1800s, it's been a Swedish tradition for young children to dress up as witches (often with a broomstick, cat and coffee pot as accessories) around the Easter holiday, known as påskkärringar or "Easter hags", and knock on neighbours' doors to ask for sweet treats.
But as for where the word skärtorsdagen comes from, it's actually related to the Christian tradition.
Christians mark Maundy Thursday as the day when Jesus Christ had his final meal with his disciples and washed each of their feet, an important cleansing ritual which plays a big part in the religion today – "maundy" comes from a word meaning "foot-washing" (originally from Latin "command").
Skära means "to cut" in today's Swedish, but several centuries ago it referred to cleaning or purification, from an older Norse word that meant "clean/beautiful/pure", and that's where the name of the celebration comes from.
Another place you'll see skär used in this sense is in another religious term, Skärselden, which means Purgatory (the place where, in Christian belief, souls undergo purification before they can ascend to heaven).
Although skärtorsdagen hasn't been a public holiday in Sweden since 1772, some workplaces do allow employees to leave early.
Careful staying in bed too long today though, or you risk being called skärklumpen (clean lump).
Example sentences
Skärtorsdagen är en av årets största trafikdagar.
Maundy Thursday is one of the busiest days of the year for traffic.
Systembolaget är öppet som vanligt på skärtorsdagen.
Systembolaget is open as usual on Maundy Thursday.
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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Yep.
The word is skärtorsdagen, which can be more simply translated as Maundy Thursday – the Thursday before Easter. In 2024, that's March 28th.
Torsdag is the Swedish word for Thursday. Like the English word and most of the Nordic languages, this comes from the Norse God Thor, in contrast to Romance languages where the name for Thursday usually derives from the Latin dies Jovis (Jupiter's Day).
- Don’t miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button
According to folklore, Thursday was the day of the week most closely associated with witchcraft and magic.
Maundy Thursday in particular was known as the day when witches would fly off to the mythical Blåkulla to dance with the devil. Swedes would often go so far as hiding their household brooms so they couldn't be stolen by any witches, and use other methods to stop them entering their homes, such as painting crosses on the door.
Since around the 1800s, it's been a Swedish tradition for young children to dress up as witches (often with a broomstick, cat and coffee pot as accessories) around the Easter holiday, known as påskkärringar or "Easter hags", and knock on neighbours' doors to ask for sweet treats.
But as for where the word skärtorsdagen comes from, it's actually related to the Christian tradition.
Christians mark Maundy Thursday as the day when Jesus Christ had his final meal with his disciples and washed each of their feet, an important cleansing ritual which plays a big part in the religion today – "maundy" comes from a word meaning "foot-washing" (originally from Latin "command").
Skära means "to cut" in today's Swedish, but several centuries ago it referred to cleaning or purification, from an older Norse word that meant "clean/beautiful/pure", and that's where the name of the celebration comes from.
Another place you'll see skär used in this sense is in another religious term, Skärselden, which means Purgatory (the place where, in Christian belief, souls undergo purification before they can ascend to heaven).
Although skärtorsdagen hasn't been a public holiday in Sweden since 1772, some workplaces do allow employees to leave early.
Careful staying in bed too long today though, or you risk being called skärklumpen (clean lump).
Skärtorsdagen är en av årets största trafikdagar.
Maundy Thursday is one of the busiest days of the year for traffic.
Systembolaget är öppet som vanligt på skärtorsdagen.
Systembolaget is open as usual on Maundy Thursday.
Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.
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