In the olden days, the metal clappers of church bells were exchanged for wooden chimes on Dummelon Day, to mark the approach of Easter. The tradition goes back a long way, according to some as far as the Middle Ages.
– It is to create seriousness that you want a duller sound in the church bells, says Karolinn Strandberg, priest in Östersund’s parish.
How many congregations silence their church bells today is difficult to find out. Within Östersund’s parish, the bells in the Odensala church are also muted.
Dumb Melon Day should not be confused with Ash Wednesday. The latter falls on the day after Shrove Tuesday and is the first day of Lent.
SVT hung out in the bell tower of the Stora kyrkan in Östersund, where instead of replacing the bell flap, burlap is wrapped around it.