Once used by farmers to mark the passing of days, ‘namedays’ are still a big deal in Sweden, with many treating their ‘namedays ‘as a kind of second birthday…

Xander Brett

Look at a Swedish diary and you’ll find a collection of Christian names under the date. (Monday 15^th January for example has a ‘Laura’ and ‘Lorentz’). These are namnsdags or namedays, and people of that name are permitted, on that day, to indulge in a kind of second birthday, complete with cake, cards, and presents.

The allocation of namedays are controlled by the Svenska Akademien (Swedish Academy) in Stockholm

Namedays were once a way for farmers to keep track of time without using the numerical Gregorian calendar. Traditionally in par with saint days, nowadays, after waves of immigration, the list needs constant updating. That is a task overseen by the Swedish Academy. The old list of names was updated by a committee first in 1972, then again in 1988, 1993 and 2001, meaning there are now 615 names in the calendar. With over 150,000 registered names in Sweden this year, though, and that number only increasing, there will always be people left out.

This article is a Fika Online exclusive.