Name days are a big deal in Greece, often celebrated with more fanfare than birthdays — especially if one has a common name. Of course, the times being what they are right now, name days are taking a different form. You might expect to meet a lot of people named Agamemnon, Hercules, or Hera in Greece. These are names so common, it can seem like every Greek is named one or the other.
As a result, cousins often share names, so some name days become major celebrations for certain families. Nearly every day of the year is dedicated to a Christian holiday, saint or martyr.
If you are named after one, or if your name has the same meaning or derives from the name of one, their feast day is your name day. So if your name is John , for example, your official name day is January 7, the feast day of Aghios Ioannis Saint John. Of course, things are not always so simple.
There are many saints in the Greek Orthodox tradition, and many shared the same name. As such, some names are celebrated on more than one date. For instance, someone named Anastasios a common name related to the Greek word for resurrection could either celebrate their name day on Easter Sunday, or on the feast day of Aghios Anastasios. But Greeks only celebrate one name day per year, determined by the precise origin of their names.
Matched Categories Saint's Day. How to pronounce name day? Alex US English. David US English. Mark US English. Daniel British.
Libby British. Mia British. Karen Australian. Hayley Australian. Natasha Australian. Veena Indian. Priya Indian. Name days are also announced on the radio and on TV. For example, the image to the right shows homepage of SME. So how does one celebrate name day? You may also receive small gifts, such as a box of chocolates , flowers if you are female , or maybe even a bottle of wine or some liquor.
When I was in elementary school, it was customary for the person celebrating his or her name day to bring small treats for the classmates. I usually brought in candies or lollipops. This committee was also in charge of assigning new names to the calendar. The committee basically took over the responsibilities that were previously delegated to the church.
However, after the end of communism, two things happened. First, the committee disappeared with the change of political system, and secondly, influx of Western media brought in new influences including new unique names. Even more exotic names are being picked by members of the Roma Gypsy community.
These days, the duty to assign new name days has been unofficially relegated to the calendar publishers. This is why some new names may have conflicting days. There is even talk that the name day tradition may disappear in the future…. Do you want to wish someone Happy Name Day?
Check the Slovak name day calendar at Slovensko. But what if the name is not listed? These are called diminutiveness , and are a way to indicate that something is dear to you. When in doubt, just ask your friend. And what if you want to start celebrating the name day tradition using your American name? On Twitter or Facebook? Connect with us. Prefer email? This date is specific to your given name and the roots of that name. The tradition of celebrating this day flows back into Catholic and Orthodox countries since the Middle Ages and continues today.
Celebrations of each name day are typically in commemoration of saints and martyrs of the Catholic church. For example, Sweden celebrates the name Karl on January 28, which is the anniversary of the death of Charlemagne. In some countries, such as Poland, there are several days for one name. Many countries regard these celebrations to be even more important than an actual birthday, as the latter was seen as a pagan tradition.
This became a popular topic when George R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones, refers to the topic in his books and the resulting television series. While Martin does not give us a clear definition of what name days are, he does mention name days coincide with birthdays.
The Nameday is a custom in the society of the Seven Kingdoms.
0コメント