Crayfish party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A crayfish party is a summertime eating and drinking celebration in Sweden (where it is known as a kräftskiva) and in Finland (where it is in Finnish known as Rapujuhlat). The parties are generally held during August, a tradition which started because Swedish crayfish harvesting was for most of the 20th century legally limited to late summer. Today, the kräftpremiär date in early August has no legal significance, and Sweden actually imports most of its crayfish, in large part from the U.S. state of Louisiana and from China. The locally available crayfish is often clearly more expensive than the frozen and imported ones.
The crayfish are boiled in salted water and seasoned with fresh dill — preferably "crown dill", harvested after the plant has flowered — then served cold and eaten with the fingers. Akvavit and other snaps are normal accompaniments, as is beer, bread, strong Västerbotten cheese, mushroom pies, and salads. Some say tradition demands "one drink for every claw", but in practice few keep up that pace. Dining is theoretically outdoors, though in practice commonly driven inside by inclement weather or aggressive mosquitoes. Usual accessories are paper tablecloths, bibs, comical paper hats, and paper lanterns, often depicting the Man in the Moon. A rowdy atmosphere complete with noisy eating and traditional drinking songs is the norm. It is culturally correct to suck the juice out of the crayfish with a loud slurping sound before shelling it.
[edit] References
- Robinowitz, Christina Johansson; Carr, Lisa Werner (2001). Modern-Day Vikings: A Practical Guide to Interacting with the Swedes. Intercultural Press. ISBN 1-877864-88-9. p. 123. Google books
- Tidhom, Po; Lilja, Agneta (2004). The Crayfish Party (From The Swedish Institute). Retrieved January 29, 2006.
- Finnguide. Finnish Crayfish Party. Retrieved January 31, 2006.
