The Swedish Crayfish Attack

In August things are about to get messy in Sweden. We are talking about a 500 year old tradition that will make you drool if you like parties and remind you how it was when you left a birthday party when you were ten with birthday cake all over your face and clothes.

Does this ring any bells?

I am talking about the crayfish summer festival, a tradition so old in Sweden, that dates back to the 1500s. A delicacy saved for the aristocrats, the gobbling crayfish is still very popular and enjoyed by people of all classes. The imports of crayfish from other countries such as Turkey led to a price drop and made the Kräftskivor (crayfish parties) a more affordable tradition that marks the end of the summer. People gather to eat, drink, have a great time. I'm hoping to experience it soon enough.

That's a lot of crayfish.

There have been restrictions that prevent the overfishing of crayfish in Sweden, for a couple of months starting from August and while you can import them from another country the local crayfish of Sweden always wins.

The very few who have private access, of course, catch their own crayfish. The little creatures are night animals, so fishing has to be done after dark. They are caught in wire traps and the bait is often rotten or raw fish. Crayfish must be alive when placed in the saucepan of boiling liquor (source).

There is also a nice little song that goes with it, but i will not spoil the meaning:

Helan går
Sjung hopp faderallan lallan lej
Helan går
Sjung hopp faderallan lej
Och den som inte helan tar
Han heller inte halvan får
Helan går
Sjung hopp faderallan lej

Lastly, according to thelocal.se don’t start the party hungry. It takes about 5 minutes to dig out the eqivalent of about a meatball’s worth of meat.

So this was a short intro to the  Kräftskivor, one of the many interesting traditions of sweden. In two weeks i am going to experience it first hand, while i also plant to visit Turku in Finland and Copenhagen in Denmark. Bursting with excitement! So for now take care, see you soon Uppsala!

UPDATE: Well, according to an anonymous user with apparent experience in crayfish parties..."Hey man you got the *don't come start hungry" part wrong, you're supposed to get there hungry, that way you'll get more drunk, and you will be eating for hours, You will get fed eventually ;) + there is often more food at the table than only the crayfishes :)"

So, go out there and have fun your way! Get those bellies full of beer and tiny little crayfish meatballs! Thank you stranger!