A crayfish party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

. The tradition originated in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, where a crayfish party is called a '. The tradition has also spread to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

via its Swedish-speaking population, and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. A similar tradition exists in the

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

in particular in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. Crayfish parties are generally held during August, a tradition that began because the

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

harvest in Sweden was, for most of the 20th century, legally limited to the late summer. Nowadays, the ' date in early August has no legal significance. Customary party accessories are novelty paper hats, paper tablecloths, paper lanterns (often depicting the

Man in the Moon In many cultures, several pareidolic images of a human face, head or body are recognized in the disc of the full moon; they are generally known as the Man in the Moon. The images are based on the appearance of the dark areas (known as lunar mar ...

), and bibs. ' and other kinds of ' are served, as well as

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

, and traditional drinking songs (') may be sung. The

are boiled in salt water and seasoned with fresh

dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growth ...

– preferably "crown dill" harvested after the plant has flowered – then served cold and eaten with the fingers.

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

pies, strong

Västerbotten cheese Västerbotten cheese ( sv, Västerbottensost ) is a cheese from the Västerbotten region of Sweden. History The village of Burträsk (now part of the Skellefteå municipality) claims Västerbotten cheese was invented there in the 1870s, suppos ...

, salads and other dishes are served buffet-style.

Spain

For more than 40 years, the town of

Herrera de Pisuerga Herrera de Pisuerga is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. It takes its name from the River Pisuerga. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nuk ...

(

Province of Palencia Palencia is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid. Overview Of ...

) has celebrated the ' (Crayfish's National Festival). This is because this crustacean has always been part of the traditional gastronomy of the area. Since 2011, the town includes a "Swedish dinner" in its celebrations, during which the residents practice the Swedish tradition of a street dinner with paper lanterns and candles in true '-style. For the inaugural Swedish dinner, the festival was honoured by the presence of a special guest, the First Secretary and Chancellor of Spain, Eva Boix.EL MUNDO. Periódico digital: Cangrejada al estilo sueco en el Festival de Herrera de Pisuerga
/ref>

References

{{Parties Parties Swedish culture Swedish cuisine Finnish culture Swedish folklore Finnish folklore National dishes August events