Well, I've put a tremendous amount of thought in recent weeks into trying to come up with a killer April Fools post for y'all, but there were hindrances. Any life-changing announcement pranks, for example, would have been too obvious because I would have mentioned them to family and friends before posting them here. Not that you're not important to me, you thousands of anonymous fans, but really. I thought about saying that I was closing down the blog, but The Swede thought that was a bad idea because of the rioting that would presumably result 'round the world. So I'm gonna play it straight and just get going on the Easter weekend conversation because I know you're dying to know what it's all about over here. So, first off, it's called Påsk here and, as everywhere, it's a several-days-long holiday. Today, Skärtorsdagen, is the beginning of it all. The word "skära" is an old Swedish word that means clean and refers to Christ's washing the Apostles feet at the Last Supper and, more contemporarily, the practice of cleaning one's home to get ready for the holiday. It makes more sense than the English "Maundy Thursday", which no one really knows the origin or meaning of with 100% certainty. Obviously I didn't get Vanderbilt Divinity School out of my system entirely, eh? Anyway, one of the ways that Swedes celebrate Påsk is to decorate their homes with bouquets of branches with Peep-colored feathers on the ends called Påskris. I think they're super cute, but they're also a cat-owner's worst nightmare, so we skipped that tradition in this house. Stay tuned; I still have to tell you about the witches!
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