This is a joke. The author is responsible for the opinions expressed in the text.
Today’s name is Valentine and that means 9,796 Swedes have reason to eat their own name day cake. Plus the 291 people whose last name is Valentin. All according to the name statistics on the Swedish Tax Agency website.
When I was a child there was only one name per day, but for several years now most days of the year have two name days, but not February 14th. If you look closely in your almanac, you can see an extra line of text under “Valentine.” There in cursive it says Valentine’s Day, a day that makes the makers of sugared jelly hearts rub their hands – not to mention all the florists in the world, but it’s their fault.
I think you should take advantage of every opportunity to celebrate and preferably a normal everyday life. Last Tuesday evening, Blixten and I shared a bottle of champagne with the meatballs after the medal shower at the Olympics. The women’s triple on the ski slopes was a reason to celebrate. Not to mention the victory in the curling arena a few hours later.
But back to name days, something I have a fondness for and know I’m not alone. My parents, Maud and Gösta, had to spend their days with Matilda and Gustav, but I don’t think they cared.
I have Christmas Eve for myself and share Karin Day with all the Kajsos. It’s completely fine.
Some people name their children after them the name that appears in the almanac on the day the child is born – assuming, of course, that the child is of the correct gender.
My friend Catharina, who is a pastor, told me during the sermon on Sunday about a man who had just become a grandfather and that from the beginning it was planned that the grandson would be named after the name that was in the almanac that day. Pretty unimaginative if you ask me, but now it didn’t happen that way because the baby was born on February 2nd – Candlemas, one of the few days that doesn’t have a real name.
Earlier this week I asked Blixten if he had any plans for how we would celebrate Valentine’s Day.
– Celebrate, he said, looking surprised. Should we watch the Olympics?
Be that as it may, and who knows – maybe there will be bubbles in front of the TV this evening.
Read more EKG case series, for example about how one time in the golf cart is enough.
