The witch is a universal symbol during Easter celebrations in Scandinavia, as well as in Unixploria. Why witches on a Christian holiday, you might ask. The answer is that many of our costumes derive from pagan, historical folklore mixed with Christian traditions. The witches were believed to meet the devil on Maundy Thursday. To get to the gathering at Blåkulla/Blockula in Gotland, Sweden, the witches traveled using a magic broomstick.
Blockula plays a significant part in the witch-hunts described in Joseph Glanvill’s work, Sadducismus Triumphatus (1682). This book detailed Blockula in an Appendix entitled: ‘True Account of What Happened in the Kingdom of Sweden In the Years 1669, 1670, and upwards: About some Persons that were accused of Witches; and Tried and Executed By the King’s Command.’