Swedish Grammar Day is celebrated annually in March. Schools across Sweden organise fun grammar activities, universities have special lectures and conferences about grammar, and language service companies spread the word about grammar. There is even a special Grammar Cake to celebrate the day – perfect for the Swedish afternoon ‘fika’!
A day promoting grammar
Even though Sweden has a very high level of literacy, grammar is a school subject that has never been taken seriously enough. It has been considered a boring waste of time and never given effort or inspiration. The general lack of knowledge about grammar becomes a problem when language professionals need to discuss details in writers’ work or teach them better writing skills. The literacy may be high, but the grammar skills do not reflect this level.
The initiators of Swedish Grammar Day were teachers, linguists and lovers of grammar looking to change this view of grammar. They created fun activities for schools, promoted the importance of grammar and arranged a grammar conference in Stockholm in 2012. It was a success! National TV reported and schools across the country soon picked up on the fun. Swedish Grammar Day has been an unmissable event for grammar nerds ever since.
Grammar games, activities and fun
The initiators of Grammar Day want to help schools inspire and support students learning grammar. This website contains lots of suggestions for fun games and activities at schools, such as changing the verb tense in a school book. There are also quizzes and basic information about grammar for adults interested in grammar.
The Grammar Cake
The most delicious way to celebrate Swedish Grammar Day is by baking the rich and velvety chocolate Grammar Cake. It is a rich chocolate cake covered with orange-flavoured ganache, ginger-flavoured whipped cream and almond flakes. See the recipe for Grammar Cake (Swedish) and enjoy a slice of Grammar Cake on next year’s Grammar Day.
The initiators of Swedish Grammar Day
The Swedish Grammar Day was inspired by the American Grammar day and has been celebrated since 2012. It was initiated by Språkkonsulterna, a language service company, and Svensklärarföreningen, an association of Swedish teachers.