August is the month when Swedes have special parties to celebrate the crayfish and the baltic herring. As the nights begin to darken after long light evenings, some Swedes decorate their balconies and terraces with pretty lanterns and serve boiled bright red crayfish and aquavit to their friends. On the third Thursday of August the years's supply of this delicacy is put on the market. People have parties featuring this fish served with crispthin hard bread, potatoes, chopped onions and beer or aquavit. The main activities of this time of the year have to do with harvesting and food gathering.
Some Swedes enjoy picking berries, the most common being lingon berries and blueberries.
They also take up potatoes and other vegetables they have grown themselves. Moose hunting puts a damper on the berry picking. Many men save a week's vacation and use it for a week of hunting. It can even be hard to do business in Norrbotten the second week of September. This like many other holidays has an eve that is either celebrated or is a shortened working day.