In late July, something shifts in Sweden. The long golden evenings of peak summer are still there, but the light has taken on a slightly different quality – richer, more amber, the sun a little lower on the horizon by nine o'clock. This is when the crayfish arrive. And with them arrives one of the most cheerfully absurd rituals in the Swedish calendar: the kräftskiva.
Paper hats. Paper bibs. Red lanterns strung between the birch trees. Enormous piles of bright red crayfish. Schnapps. More schnapps. And songs. Always more songs.
The History of the Kräftskiva
The crayfish party has its roots in the 19th century when Swedish signal crayfish were abundant in the country's lakes and rivers and crayfish season was strictly regulated. For much of the 20th century, Swedish law allowed crayfish fishing only from the first Wednesday of August – a restriction that turned the opening of the season into a national event. People gathered to eat as many crayfish as possible as quickly as possible, a spirit that has never quite left the occasion.
The regulations have since been relaxed, and most of the crayfish eaten today are imported from Turkey, China and the US. But the timing and the ritual remain: late July through August is crayfish season, and the kräftskiva remains one of the most beloved and distinctively Swedish celebrations of the year.
The Setting
A proper kräftskiva takes place outdoors. A garden, a terrace, a lakeside deck – anything with air and sky and the last warmth of the Swedish summer. The table is covered in paper – not a tablecloth, actual paper, which you will come to understand when the crayfish shells and dill start piling up. Red paper lanterns hang overhead, traditionally decorated with the face of the man in the moon. These details matter: they are part of the atmosphere as much as the food.
The evening starts before dark and ends well after. At these latitudes in August, darkness doesn't arrive until ten o'clock or later, which means long, golden hours of eating, drinking and the particular kind of deep relaxation that comes from being outdoors in good company at the end of a Swedish summer.
The Crayfish Themselves
The crayfish are boiled in heavily salted water with vast quantities of dill – crown dill, the mature flowering variety – and left to cool in the brine overnight to absorb the flavours. They are served cold, stacked in magnificent red piles on large platters, still with their dill. The eating is slow, deliberate and messy: you twist off the tail, suck out the claw meat, and for the dedicated, excavate the small amount of meat inside the body cavity.
This is not elegant food. It is communal, slightly chaotic, and requires both patience and appetite. The flavour reward – sweet, briny, deeply dill-infused – is worth every moment of effort. A good kräftskiva might involve two or three dozen crayfish per person over the course of an evening.
🦞 How to Eat Crayfish Like a Swede
Twist the tail from the body and peel the shell from the underside – the tail meat comes out in one piece. Suck the juice from the body cavity before setting it aside. Crack the claws with your teeth to get the small amount of meat inside. Eat with thin bread, Västerbotten cheese and strong mustard. Wipe your hands frequently. Accept that you will smell of dill for the rest of the evening.
The Table: What Else Is Served
The crayfish are central but not alone. A kräftskiva table typically includes several varieties of crispbread and dark bread; strong, aged Västerbotten cheese (a hard, deeply flavoured Swedish classic that is essentially mandatory at crayfish parties); butter; cold-smoked salmon; various pickles; and a sharp mustard for dipping the crayfish tails. The combination of sweet crayfish, pungent cheese and fresh dill is one of the great flavour combinations in Swedish food.
Dessert, if it appears at all, is simple – perhaps ice cream or a simple cake. The point is not the dessert.
The Drinks: Snaps and Beer
The kräftskiva runs on two things: cold light beer and ice-cold schnapps. The schnapps arrives in small glasses and is consumed in rounds, each preceded by a song. Sweden has a long and varied tradition of snapsvisor – schnapps songs – and a proper host will have a songbook on the table from which guests take turns leading the group.
The songs are celebratory, often slightly bawdy, and frequently involve instructions that must be followed at precise moments in the melody. Helan Går is the most famous and probably the first one you'll learn. The basic instruction is: drain the glass, then set it down. This will happen more times than you expect.
🥂 Snapsvisor: The Art of the Schnapps Song
The leader announces the song, everyone picks up their glass, the song is sung, and the glass is drained on cue. Common favourites include Helan Går, Sjung Hopp Faderallan and various seasonal compositions. Many Swedish families have their own tradition of writing new songs for each occasion – often gently satirising guests or celebrating the season. Participating enthusiastically matters more than knowing the words.
The Paper Hats and Bibs
This requires explanation. Swedish kräftskiva guests wear novelty paper hats – printed with crayfish motifs, moons and stars – and paper bibs around their necks. This is not ironic. This is simply how it is done, and has been done for generations. The bibs are practical (crayfish juice travels). The hats are traditional. Wearing them without self-consciousness is part of the spirit of the occasion.
If you are invited to a kräftskiva and hesitate to put on your hat, a Swedish host will gently but firmly place it on your head. Resistance is futile and inadvisable.
Surströmming: The Optional Adventure
At some kräftskiva gatherings – not all, but some – a can of surströmming may appear. Surströmming is fermented Baltic herring, one of the most pungent foods on earth, and a deeply polarising subject in Sweden itself. The smell is extraordinary and immediate and not for the faint of constitution. The taste, once you get past the experience of opening the tin, is complex, funky and – to its devotees – genuinely delicious.
You are not obliged to eat it. Most Swedes consider it an optional extra rather than a requirement. But if the tin appears and you choose to try a small piece on crispbread with chopped red onion and sour cream, as tradition dictates, you will have a story that lasts the rest of your life.
How to Experience a Kräftskiva as a Visitor
The easiest way is the best way: get invited to one. If you're staying in Sweden in August and have any Swedish acquaintances or contacts, ask about the possibility. Swedes are generally pleased to include curious visitors in their traditions and will enjoy your reactions to the snaps songs and the paper hats.
Many Swedish restaurants hold public kräftskivor in August – typically a set menu affair with all the correct elements. Stockholm in particular has numerous options at good restaurants, and booking well in advance is wise. It is not the same as being in someone's garden under red lanterns, but it is an entirely legitimate way to experience the tradition.