Witch Broom
The broom (kvast) that, in Swedish folk belief, carried witches to Blåkulla, the witches' sabbath mountain, especially on Maundy Thursday before Easter. The 'påskkärring', the Easter witch, was thought to ride a broom, or a cow, goat, or pitchfork, to Blåkulla. People blocked chimneys and hid brooms behind stoves to stop the flights, and the belief shaped Sweden's Easter-witch custom. The journey was said to take place on Maundy Thursday night, when the witches flew to the mountain, danced, and made their pact with the devil; families therefore stopped up their chimneys, barred their doors, an