Celebrate National Grammar Day on March 4! Visit the official website (maintained by Grammar Girl) for many ways to celebrate, including the recipe for the official Grammartini (developed by founder Martha Brockenbrough), grammar e-cards, t-shirts, links to other blogs that are honoring the day, desktop wallpaper by Thomas McGee like the one you see here, and much more.

Editor Mark’s National Grammar Day haiku contest closes at 10 p.m. on 3/3 (so there may still be a few hours left), but stay tuned for announcements about the winning haiku. Be sure to check out John E. McIntyre’s Grammarnoir (part I, part II, part III), always a National Grammar Day treat. Part IV will be unveiled on the big day. And check out copyediting.com for tips and ideas about celebrating grammar and language every day.
And finally, on this day and on every day, let’s remember one thing: Be kind. To err is human, and National Grammar Day isn’t about getting the biggest red pen you can find (literal or verbal) and striking fear in the hearts of those around you who may spell something incorrectly, dangle a participle, or choose the wrong word. It’s not about upping the ante on bashing others for getting something “wrong” or for pedantically correcting those around us.
Language is beautiful and complex, and we are all challenged by it sometimes. I began blogging six years ago, and in that time, I have gotten to “know” many of my fellow word nerds through their blogs (see blogroll) and through daily chatter over Twitter. I don’t always get it right (and, goodness knows, I just can’t shake that it’s/its mistake I sometimes make!), and I’m grateful to wordies who have gently shown me the way as we together explore the nuances of working with words. Conversing each day with my language comrades-in-arms about the topics in which we share a common interest is a joy. National Grammar Day is just a day for celebrating that joy.