Kräftskiva in Sweden: dates 2026–2027, traditions and words
| Day | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Kräftskivor (augusti) | Saturday, 1 August 2026 – Monday, 31 August 2026 | Sunday, 1 August 2027 – Tuesday, 31 August 2027 |
- The date
- No fixed date. Crayfish parties are held through August and into early September, usually on a Friday or Saturday evening.
- Day off?
- Not a holiday of any kind: a party you hold on a weekend.
A kräftskiva is a late-summer party around a mountain of crayfish. For much of the 1900s Swedish law only allowed crayfish fishing from a set day in August, the kräftpremiär. The law went in 1994, but August stayed crayfish month.
The crayfish are boiled with salt and crown dill (krondill), cooled in the liquid and eaten cold with your fingers. Most of what is sold today is imported or signal crayfish (signalkräftor) from Swedish lakes.
What Swedes do
- Paper hats, bibs (haklappar) and paper lanterns, often in the shape of a smiling moon (månlykta), hung over the table outside.
- Eating noisily: you suck the juice from the shell and pull out the tail and claw meat.
- Singing together at the table. Song sheets (sånghäften) with traditional and home-made songs are handed round.
- Colleagues, friends and neighbours all hold them, so you may be invited to several in one August.
Food and drink
| Swedish | English | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| kräftor | crayfish | Boiled with dill, served cold. |
| västerbottensostpaj | Västerbotten cheese pie | The usual side dish. |
| rostat bröd | toast | With butter, alongside the crayfish. |
| ost | cheese | A strong hard cheese with crispbread. |
| räkor | prawns | Often served too, for guests who would rather not peel crayfish. |
Words for Kräftskiva
Nouns are given with en or ett where you would use them that way. Words in our dictionary are linked, with their forms and pronunciation.
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| en kräftskiva | a crayfish party |
| en kräfta | a crayfish |
| kräftor | crayfish (plural) |
| en signalkräfta | a signal crayfish |
| en flodkräfta | a noble crayfish (native) |
| krondill | crown dill (flowering dill) |
| en klo | a claw |
| en stjärt | a tail |
| suga | to suck |
| skala | to peel, shell |
| en haklapp | a bib |
| en partyhatt | a party hat |
| en lykta | a lantern |
| en månlykta | a moon lantern |
| ett sånghäfte | a song sheet, songbook |
| koka | to boil |
| kräftpremiären | the opening day of the crayfish season |
| sensommaren | late summer |
| en augustikväll | an August evening |
Phrases you will hear
- Välkommen på kräftskiva!Welcome to the crayfish party!
- Kan du skicka kräftorna?Could you pass the crayfish?
- Hur skalar man en kräfta?How do you peel a crayfish?
- Nu tar vi en visa!Time for a song!
- Kan jag få en servett till?Could I have another napkin?
Learn more Swedish
See every holiday and the full list of red days in the Swedish holiday calendar, and pick up one new word a day with the Swedish word of the day. Dates and weekdays are easier with our guide to days and months in Swedish and the Swedish numbers tool.
Sources
- Lag (1989:253) om allmänna helgdagar, Riksdagen: which days are public holidays.
- Crayfishing in Sweden, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Dates are calculated from the rules above and were checked against the law and published calendars. Last checked 7 October 2026. Customs vary between regions and families; this page describes the common ones.