Originally, Easter was a Jewish tradition. About two thousand
years ago, the Jews were slaves in Egypt, and they celebrate
Easter in memory of leaving Egypt and going to what is now
Israel. In Sweden Easter is called 'Påsk' and the word probably
originates from the Hebrew word Later on Christians started to
celebrate Easter too - here in Sweden in the 12th century. To
Christians Easter commemorate how Jesus died on the cross and
was resurrected. Jesus was described as the Lamb sacrificed by
God, so lamb is traditional food at Easter in Sweden. Eggs are
common in Easter traditions all over the world. They are a
symbol of growth and life that reawakens in nature after the
long winter. When Sweden was a Catholic country, Easter was
preceded by 40 days of fast. During that time, people were not
allowed to eat eggs, cheese, milk or meat. It's not surprising
that when the hens began to lay eggs again and the fast was
over, eggs were a popular feature at the Easter festivities. In
the *really* early days, long befor