Crayfish in August - a Swedish Ritual

Nowhere else in the world is the crayfish so fervently worshipped than in Sweden.

In each of Sweden's three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, you will find the biggest crayfish parties in the world taking place in August.

The custom, that is only about 100 years old, is born from the celebration of the returning crayfish to the Swedish table. The catching of crayfish was once prohibited during about 10 months of the year.

At one time the lakes in central Sweden were crammed full of crayfish. But over-fished as a result of high demand for this delicacy from restaurants in Paris, London and Berlin, the abundance of crayfish was suddenly threatened. To make matters was, at the beginning of the 1900's a parasite wiped out many rare species of crayfish.

Today not only local crayfish are on the menu, but Sweden is now the world's biggest importer of crayfish from Turkey, Spain and the USA.

And rightfully so.

The Swedes are not only skilled at handling the crayfish itself to ensure the best meat is totally consumed, their consumption level is impressively enormous.

The crayfish party itself is a true delight. Forced to eat using your fingers, the result is a casual, relaxed outdoor party, with plenty of fat and juicy crayfish (the stars of the show), music, singing and snapps. The latest party I attended was a real treat. The hosts divided us into teams, and each team wrote and performed a short song to a popular "schnapps" tune. Each team member wrote a line of the song, but as we weren't allowed to read what the other had written, the whole performance became comical. Coupled with the fact each of us in team represented a different country, and we wrote our own line in our native language, the song was hilariously absurd. However, it was mandatory, the schnapps was delicious, and we weren't that far off key, so who's complaining?

The shops offer just about every piece of table and party wear you can imagine for this special event - everything decorated with images of the crayfish. From napkins and plates, to crayfish knives, glasses and decanters. And last but by no means least, a full moon paper lantern is hung above the party table - in the absense of an authentic full moon, that is.

Yes, let the party last...