As Is Customary

People ask me all the time what the biggest difference is between Sweden and America.  A lot of the time I comment on how quiet it is living in the city here compared to the cities I lived in in the US.  But something that stands out even more and surprises me again and again is how alike Swedes are.  Perhaps it's because their culture has been around for so long or because things around here are very uniform (everyone getting their salary on the same day and standardized exterior paint, for example) and cyclical (opening the cans of  surströmming in the fall, celebrating Midsommar and going on vacation in July) based on the seasons.  It's always funny to me to see how many people are carrying bags from the liquor store on Saturday morning because they know they won't be able to get it for the rest of the weekend or when The Swede explains that the reason there is so much north-bound traffic is that all the Stockholm school children are on their winter sport break and are heading to the ski resorts.  So it came as no surprise to me that today, a Sunday in mid-to-late August, my Facebook news feed was filled with my Swedish friends' pictures from their kräftfests last night.

Ours began yesterday afternoon in Kungsängen with Pimm's Fruit Cups, a British refreshment that Mama Swede brought back from her recent trip to London.

It became mighty cold after awhile, so we moved inside for the main attraction.  Swedes eat their crawfish cold, in a boil of salt, beer and plenty of fresh dill.  They are a lot of work for a little bit of food and if you're eating with The Swede or Sarianne it feels like a race because they have to make sure that they get their share, on top of which, if you have even the tiniest cut on any part of your hands it will feel like you're rubbing it with... well... salt, beer and dill.  I guess I'm not making it sound that appealing, but trust me, it is well worth it.  Like with Midsommar, there are songs to sing, schnapps to drink and, as you saw in the picture from last year, attire.  It is no less than a major summer event.

And since I was racing The Swede, this...

...quickly became this.