Kraftskiva: The Swedish Crayfish Party

The crayfish party is Sweden’s loudest late-summer dinner, and an easy one to join if you know how. Here is when it happens, what goes on at the table, where the crayfish come from, how to cook them, and how to get the drinks in time.

When you need this

• You are in Sweden in August or early September
• You have been invited to a kräftskiva and wonder what to expect
• You want to host one at a rented cottage
• You want to join one without Swedish friends
• You are buying crayfish or snaps for a party

When is crayfish party season? August, by custom

Crayfish parties start in early August and run well into September. The timing is a leftover of an old law. From the late 1800s until 1994, catching crayfish was banned from November until early August. The season opened at 17:00 on 7 August, and from 1982 at 17:00 on the first Wednesday in August.

That ban was abolished completely in 1994, so there is no legal crayfish season any more. Many English-language guides still describe the “crayfish premiere” (kräftpremiär) as if it were a fixed date in law. It is not; it is simply when Swedes still like to start. If you plan to catch your own, the rules are strict and depend on who owns the water — see crayfish fishing in Sweden.

What happens at a kräftskiva

A kräftskiva is one of the celebrations most strongly tied to Swedish identity, and it follows a recognizable script. Guests wear novelty paper hats and bibs, the table sits under paper lanterns with crayfish decorations, and every place has a songbook. The name tells you what it is: skiva comes from bordsskiva, the table laid for a feast.

The crayfish are eaten cold and whole, with your fingers. Turn each one belly up and suck the brine from the shell; slurping is expected, which is why the bib is there. Alongside come bread, crispbread, cheese and pies, above all one made with Västerbotten cheese (Västerbottenpaj).

Then there is the snaps. Each round is introduced by a short drinking song (snapsvisa), and Helan går is the best known. Nobody expects a foreign guest to know the words; that is what the songbook is for. For the drink itself and the song tradition, see snaps and aquavit.

The tradition is older than the party. Crayfish have been eaten in Sweden since at least 1562, when King Erik XIV ordered as many as possible for his sister’s wedding. Back then they went into stews and forcemeats. Boiling them whole and serving them cold in their broth with flowering dill came in the late 1800s, out of bourgeois crayfish dinners. The word kräftskiva came into use in the 1930s.

Where the crayfish come from: mostly abroad

The crayfish on a Swedish party table are mostly imported. Jordbruksverket, the Swedish Board of Agriculture, says Swedish supply does not meet demand, so most crayfish eaten in Sweden are imported. Statistics Sweden names Turkey, China and Spain as sources. Some crayfish are sold fresh; others are sold cooked and frozen in their brine.

Two species live in Swedish lakes. The native noble crayfish (flodkräfta) survives in southern Sweden and along the Norrland coast. The North American signal crayfish (signalkräfta) lives south of the Dalälven river and in a few places further north. Read the label or ask at the fish counter if origin matters to you.

Buying and cooking crayfish

Frozen, cooked crayfish

Cooked crayfish frozen in their brine should thaw in the brine, in the fridge, not on the counter. Keep the fridge at 4 °C, the temperature Livsmedelsverket, the Swedish Food Agency, recommends. Shellfish spoil quickly if left warm for several hours, so keep the platter cold until it goes on the table.

Live crayfish

Crayfish are traditionally boiled with crown dill (krondill, the flowering heads), salt and sugar, and often a splash of ale in the brine. They turn from black to red as they cook. A basic ratio from the seafood trade’s promotion body is 1 dl salt to 3 liters of water, simmered gently for about six to seven minutes. Let them cool in the brine and serve them cold.

How you kill them matters. Jordbruksverket says animals kept by people that can feel pain must be spared unnecessary suffering, including when killed. It also says Sweden has no detailed rules yet on how to kill crustaceans. In 2024 it announced such rules; its page, reviewed in June 2026, still says there are none. What it has said plainly, to Swedish public broadcaster SVT, is that putting many crayfish in cold or lukewarm water and heating them slowly makes them suffer. Drop them quickly into water at a full boil.

Keep them out of the lake

This is the rule that catches cottage renters. It is illegal to throw crayfish, shells or crayfish parts into any water other than the one they were caught in. It is also illegal to rinse or dump packaging that held crayfish from another water. The reason is crayfish plague, which kills the native noble crayfish. Put shells, leftover brine and packaging in the bin, never in the lake.

Live signal crayfish may only be carried from where they were caught to a kitchen, inside a management area covering southern and central Sweden. Bringing live or uncooked freshwater crayfish into Sweden from abroad is banned; cooked crayfish are fine.

The drinks: buy by Saturday afternoon

Snaps, wine and beer above 3.5% are sold to take away only at Systembolaget, the state monopoly, and only to people aged 20 or over. Supermarkets sell beer up to 3.5%, from age 18. Systembolaget closes at 15:00 on Saturdays and all day Sunday, so a Saturday-night party needs Friday or Saturday-morning shopping. Hours in detail: Systembolaget opening hours.

A few more rules shape the evening:

• No bring-your-own. You may not drink alcohol at an eating place that is not licensed to serve it, and you may not carry a served drink out of a licensed one.
• Outdoor parties. Drinking in public is not banned nationally, but each municipality sets its own no-alcohol zones. See drinking in public in Sweden.
• Driving. The drink-driving limit is 0.2 per mille. After several snaps rounds you can still be over it the next morning. Arrange a ride or a sober driver.
• Pace yourself. Each song ends with a shot. Sipping is fine.

Joining a crayfish party as a visitor

Most kräftskivor are private, among friends, family or colleagues. If you have no invitation, the public route in is a restaurant crayfish evening. In August many restaurants run them, usually as a set crayfish menu on fixed dates. Some add live music or hold them on rooftop terraces or boats, and a few bars sell crayfish on a drop-in basis. In Stockholm in 2026 these ran from 6 to 30 August, with at least one continuing into mid-September. Most need booking in advance.

If you are renting a cottage, hosting your own is straightforward. Buy the crayfish and dill, get the drinks in time, print some song sheets, and hang some lanterns.

Practical information

FAQ

When is the crayfish party season in Sweden?

August, running well into September. The timing comes from an old law: crayfishing was banned from November until early August, opening on 7 August and later the first Wednesday of August. That ban was abolished in 1994, so there is no legal start date, but Swedes still start eating crayfish in early August and hold their parties then.

What happens at a kräftskiva?

Guests wear paper hats and bibs under paper lanterns and eat cold, whole crayfish boiled with dill, peeled by hand and slurped from the shell. Bread, cheese and a Västerbotten cheese pie go alongside. Rounds of snaps are drunk, each introduced by a short drinking song from a songbook, Helan går being the best known.

Are the crayfish at a Swedish crayfish party Swedish?

Mostly not. Jordbruksverket says Swedish supply does not meet demand, so most crayfish eaten in Sweden are imported; Statistics Sweden names Turkey, China and Spain as sources. Crayfish are sold both fresh and cooked and frozen in their brine. Swedish-caught crayfish are sold too; check the label or ask the fishmonger if origin matters.

How do you cook crayfish the Swedish way?

Boil them in water with salt, sugar and plenty of crown dill, often with a splash of ale; a basic ratio is 1 dl salt to 3 liters of water, simmered gently for about six to seven minutes. Drop live crayfish quickly into boiling water, never heat them slowly from cold, then let them cool in the brine.

Can tourists join a crayfish party in Sweden?

Yes. Most kräftskivor are private, but in August many restaurants hold crayfish evenings with a set menu, and some add music or serve on terraces and boats. In Stockholm in 2026 they ran from 6 to 30 August. Most must be booked in advance, and some bars sell crayfish on a drop-in basis.

Where do I buy snaps for a kräftskiva?

Only at Systembolaget, the state monopoly, which sells everything stronger than 3.5% to take away. You must be 20 to buy there. It closes at 15:00 on Saturdays and all day Sunday, so a weekend party needs Friday or Saturday-morning shopping. Supermarkets sell beer only up to 3.5%.

Related guides

• Crayfish fishing in Sweden — permits, the Vättern weekends and the plague rules if you want to catch your own
• Snaps and aquavit — the drink and the song tradition behind every round
• Systembolaget opening hours — when to shop before a weekend party
• Drinking in public in Sweden — whether your garden or park party is in a no-alcohol zone
• Midsummer in Sweden — the other great Swedish summer table

Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: Isof, Nordiska museet, Jordbruksverket, Statistics Sweden, Havs- och vattenmyndigheten, Livsmedelsverket, Sveriges riksdag, Systembolaget, Visit Sweden and SVT — full register in this topic’s source file. Restaurant dates are 2026 figures. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.