Crayfish Party 2026
Snapsvisor
The little songs we sing before we sip. Learn the ritual before Saturday 26 September, and you will never be the one left holding a full glass.
What is a snapsvisa?
A snapsvisa is a short drinking song, sung standing, immediately before a shot of akvavit. Nobody drinks alone at a kräftskiva. Someone stands, everyone joins in, and only when the last note lands does the glass reach your lips. It is loud, it is a little silly, and it is the reason a Nordic crayfish party sounds nothing like an ordinary dinner.
You do not need to sing well, or even know the words. The whole table carries you, and the full songbook is on every table on the night.
How it works
Your glass is filled. Do not touch it yet.
Someone stands and calls out the song.
The whole room sings it, start to finish.
Skål! Eye contact, then drink.
This year’s songs
The eleven in our 2025 songbook, with a quick note on each. The full words, in the original language and a singable English version, are in the songbook below.
🇸🇪Vi går mot de dillprydda berg
The grand opener: a mock-solemn ode to the dill-topped “mountains” of crayfish that shine like rubies. Glass in hand, this is where the night begins.
🇸🇪Lilla nubben
A cheeky wish for a little snaps on a string, so you could pull it up and down for endless refills. Pure silliness, and a firm favourite.
🇩🇰Øl og dramto the tune of “Mikkel Rev”
A brisk Danish toast to beer and schnapps chasing the evening along. Stand up, bottoms up, empty the glass.
🌍What shall we do with the drunken sailor
The English sea-shanty everyone already knows, with its rolling “whey-hey and up she rises.” An easy one when the table needs a sing-along.
🇸🇪Mera brännvin
“More aquavit!” A gleeful demand for more snaps, more glasses, more of everything on the table.
🇸🇪Månento the tune of “Mors lilla Olle”
A tongue-in-cheek toast to the moon: once a month it’s full, and we raise our glass in admiration of how much it can hold.
🇸🇪Helan går
The most famous snapsvisa of all, and the one that opens most toasts. If you learn only one, learn this — the whole table will carry you.
🌍Hell and Goreto the tune of “Helan går”
The phonetic English party-trick version of Helan går: same tune, gloriously nonsensical sounds. A guaranteed laugh.
🇩🇰Haps, haps, hapsto the tune of “Sur, sur, sur”
A snappy appetite-sharpener: a snaps to whet the appetite, then a pilsner for the soul.
🇳🇴Vi skåler
A warm Norwegian toast to our friends — and to those we don’t yet know, so we toast them too.
🇸🇪Nu tar vi den
The short, insistent “now we take this one” that keeps the toasts rolling on through the night.
The unwritten rules
- Stand up. Sitting through a snapsvisa is noticed.
- Sing first, drink second. Never the other way around.
- Make eye contact on the skål, then again after you set the glass down.
- Not drinking akvavit? Sing anyway and toast with whatever is in front of you. The song is the point, not the schnapps.
- Anyone may call a song. Courage is the only qualification.
The full songbook
Every song, with the words in the original language and a singable English version, is in our songbook. Have a look before the night, and you’ll find a printed copy waiting on every table.
Open the songbook (PDF) Back to the Crayfish PartyQuestions about the evening? Write to us at treasurer@tna.or.th · Thai-Nordic Association
The songbook
Every song in full — original languages and a singable English version. This is exactly what you’ll find on your table on the night, so have a look before you come.
