In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a biblical character or other saint. Where they are popular, individuals celebrate both their name day and their birthday in a given year.
The custom originated with the Christian calendar of saints: believers named after a saint would celebrate that saint's feast day. Within Christianity, name days have greater resonance in areas where the Christian denominations of Catholicism, Lutheranism and Orthodoxy predominate.
In some countries, however, name-day celebrations do not have a connection to explicitly Christian traditions.
History
The celebration of name days has been a tradition in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries since the Middle Ages, and has also continued in some measure in countries, such as the Scandinavian countries, whose Protestant established church retains certain Catholic traditions. The name days originate in the list of holidays celebrated in commemoration of saints and martyrs of the church. For example, the name Karl or Carl is celebrated in Sweden on 28 January, the anniversary of the death of Charlemagne (Charles Magnus, i.e., "the great"). The church promoted the celebration of name days (or rather saints' feast days) over birthdays, as the latter was seen as a pagan tradition.
Where name days occur, official lists contain the current assignations of names to days. There are different lists for Finnish, Swedish, Sámi, and other countries that celebrate name days, though some names are celebrated on the same day in many countries. From the 18th century and onwards the list of name days has been modified in Sweden and Finland.
In various countries
Bulgaria
Name days () in Bulgaria have almost always been associated with Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox celebrations. Some names can be celebrated on more than one day and some have even started following foreign traditions (like Valentina being celebrated on the Catholic St. Valentine's Day).
Two of the most popular name days in Bulgaria are St. George's day (, celebrated on 6 May) and St. John's day (Ивановден, celebrated on 7 January).
Another example of a name day connected with Christianity is Tsvetnitsa (, Palm Sunday). On this day people with names derived from flowers, trees, herbs, etc., celebrate. Name days are frequently connected with some year or season features like Dimitrovden (Dimitar's day, 26 October) marking the beginning of winter and Gergyovden (George's day, 6 May) heralding the end of it according to traditional folklore.
Name days in Bulgaria are important and widely celebrated. Children celebrate their name days by bringing sweets and chocolates to school. By an ancient Bulgarian tradition, everybody is welcome on name days; there is no need to invite guests. Presents are given.
Common well-wishes include "May you hear your name from grandchildren and great-grandchildren!" (), "May you hear your name only with good!" () and "May your name be healthy and well!" ().
Croatia
In Croatia, name day () is a day corresponding to a date in the Catholic calendar when the respective saint's day is celebrated. Even though the celebration of the name day is less usual than celebrating a birthday, the name day is more often the occasion of congratulations from a broader number of acquaintances. This is due to the fact that the date of birth is seldom known and the person's name is known to many.
The names that are celebrated on the certain saint's day are all the names that correspond to the respective name and all the derivative names. For example, if there are different versions of the same name in different languages (e.g. John), i.e. different versions in Slavic, Romance, Germanic or other language groups, all the respective names are celebrated.
Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, people celebrate their name day ( or dated ) on the date corresponding to their own given name.
Name days are commonly of less importance than birthdays to Czech people. However, name-day celebrations can be, and often are, held together with friends or co-workers of the same name and in this way can grow in size and importance.
In the past, by law, parents were not allowed to choose just any name for a child. This has changed, although it is still common to choose the name from the name-day "calendar". The original list was the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, but changes have been made to reflect the present-day usage of names. Any existing name, Czech or foreign, can be given.
Name days corresponding to some of the most frequently occurring names in the Czech Republic gain slightly more importance than others. For example, the dates associated with the names Josef (Joseph) and Karel (Charles) are commonly known even by people with different names. However, the popularity of these names has decreased in the last years (6836 Josefs were born in 1947, but only 638 in 2014).
Denmark
Danes have for name days (). However, the custom of celebrating one's name day is practically unknown in Denmark, and few Danes know when their name day is.
Finland
Finns celebrate their name days (, ) according to their given names on the dates set by the calendar published by the University of Helsinki Almanac Office (). Every day except New Year's Day, Christmas Day and 29 February is a name day. For each day, there are names in both Finnish and Swedish; the names are frequently, but not always, cognates.
Women are slightly underrepresented in the calendar: approximately 45 per cent of name days celebrate only women while some 49 per cent are name days of men. The rest relate to names which may be given to either sex, such as Rauni (15 July), or which feature both women's and men's names, such as Oliver and Olivia (29 May).
There are many traditional beliefs associated with various name days, especially involving the weather and the appropriate times to perform agricultural tasks, such as planting some particular crop. For example, there is a saying that "Jaakko (James) casts a cold rock into the water", meaning that on Jaakko's day, 25 July, the lake and sea waters will start getting colder, which is not far from true on average. The seven days from the 18th to the 24th of July, all being women's name days, are known as "the women's week" (naistenviikko). It is popularly believed to be an especially rainy week, and this is to some extent supported by statistics, as late July and early August are the rainiest times of the year in Finland.
The Almanac Office reviews the name lists at intervals of 5 to 10 years, adding new names as they gain popularity and removing others that have faded into disuse. The University of Helsinki owns the copyright to the name lists and their corresponding dates.
The Finnish Orthodox Church has its own calendar of name days, corresponding to the feasts of Orthodox saints.
France
In France name days () have long been very important in everyday culture and it was traditional to give a small gift to a friend or family member on their name day.
Some days of the year are commonly referred to by their saint's day: "la [sc. fête de] Saint Sylvestre" is New Year's Eve; "la Saint Jean" is Midsummer (24 June); and so on.
Austria, Germany In Austria and Germany name days () used to be widely popular in traditionally Catholic southern and western regions, where historically they were more important than birthdays. Since the 1950s, the tradition has mostly disappeared even in Catholic families.
Greece and Cyprus
In Greece and Cyprus, a name day (, or ) is celebrated in a similar way to a birthday, except for expected differences (e.g. no birthday cake). It has been a strong Greek tradition since antiquity for newborn children to be named after one of their grandparents. This results in a continuation of names in the family line.
According to the Greek Orthodox Church, every day of the year is dedicated to the memory of at least one (usually more than one) saint or martyr. If someone is named after a saint, then there is a big celebration on their name day. In Greece and Cyprus, many names derive from pagan Greek antiquity, and there may not be a Christian saint of the same name. In such a case, the person is said "not to have" a name day, or they may choose to celebrate on All Saints' Day. The vast majority of name days are on the same date every year; the few exceptions are names directly or indirectly associated with Easter, and so are floating. The tradition facilitates social interaction, as all Greek language calendars include detailed name-day lists. Some name days coincide with major Christian feasts. For example, people whose names are Chrēstos or Christine have their name day on Christmas, people named after St. Basil have their name day on New Year's Day, Anastásios and Anastasía on Easter Sunday, and María and Mários either on the Dormition or on the Presentation of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The traditional format of a name-day celebration is an open house: once a family or person has chosen to celebrate with invited guests (at home, at a restaurant, a bar or a club) if at all (e.g. following a recent bereavement), all well-wishers may be welcomed. Children celebrate their birthdays and name days equally festively, but as the person grows up the emphasis may shift decisively. Entertainment provided by the celebrating host may include a meal, drinks, desserts, music and partying, rather than the guests fussing over the person celebrating. Gifts are expected from the guests. Optionally, an adult relative or a godparent might give pocket money to a celebrant child or teenager instead of a gift. In cases where birthdays and name days are close to each other, the celebrations are best merged. It is also common to shift a name day celebration to a more convenient day, e.g. to the following Friday or to a weekend. Name days can be celebrated up to 40 days after the nominal date.
Hungary
Name days in Hungary are well celebrated. Women generally given flowers on their name day, at home and at work as well. A bottle of drink is commonly gifted to men. Children normally get sweets from their families and they frequently take sweets to school to celebrate their name days with their class mates.
Name days at work, are more commonly celebrated than birthdays. This is because name days are a common knowledge unlike birthdays, which are normally listed in newspapers so as on websites. Some of the names have more than one dedicated dates. These differences are related to the fact whether the individual is a member of the catholic church, Hungarian reformed church or etc...... Although celebrating name days originates from Catholicism.
Ireland In Ireland, name days were occasionally observed in the past. Among Roman Catholics, it was traditional to begin the celebration on the night before, with a decade of the Rosary to ask the Virgin Mary and the child's patron for their needs.
Italy The Italian word for "name day" is (). People often receive small gifts on their name day, and cakes may be baked. Name days are determined according to the sanctorale, a cycle found in the General Roman Calendar which associates a few saints with almost every day. Traditionally, if more than one saint bore a child's name, his parents fix the name day at christening by choosing a specific saint. In the case of multiple given names, the child will celebrate only one, usually the first. In southern Italy, name days have greater significance and may even take priority over birthdays.
Malta Similar to Italy, in the Maltese archipelago, the onomastiku is commemorated, also derived from the sanctorale; however, no cultural importance is given to it except in the older generations.
Latvia