When is your name day?

The tradition

What is a name day?

Most Orthodox Christians are baptised with the name of a saint. That saint's feast becomes your name day: the day the whole Church remembers the person whose name you carry, and who prays for you. In Greece and Cyprus it is often a bigger celebration than a birthday, because everyone knows the date without being told.

How Greeks celebrate

Friends and family call, message or drop by to say Χρόνια πολλά (chronia polla), "many years". By custom the house is open, so nobody needs an invitation: whoever remembers comes, and the one celebrating offers sweets, coffee or a drink. Many start the day at the Divine Liturgy, and it is a good day to ask your saint's prayers and read their life.

What to say, in every language

Russian, Serbian and Romanian customs

Russians call the day imeniny or the Angel's Day, and traditionally keep the feast of their patron saint that falls soonest after their birthday. Serbs keep the Slava, a family's patron saint feast handed down from father to son, so for many Serbian families the Slava matters more than any personal name day. Romanians mark the great name days, like St. George, Sts. Constantine and Helen, and St. Andrew, with family gatherings and "La mulți ani!".

If your name has no saint

Names from Greek antiquity, like Pericles or Penelope, and modern names without an Orthodox saint are traditionally celebrated on All Saints' Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost (this year's date is in the table below). Many families also choose a saint with a similar meaning or sound.

Name days that move with Pascha

A few name days are tied to the date of Pascha, so they change every year. St. George is a special case: when April 23 falls before Pascha, Greeks celebrate him on Bright Monday instead.

Feast	Names

Old Calendar or New?

Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar, such as the Russian, Serbian and Georgian Churches and Mount Athos, keep every fixed feast 13 days later on the civil calendar: St. Demetrius falls on November 8 instead of October 26. Pascha and the feasts that depend on it are the same for everyone. Use the switch at the top to see dates for your parish. Dates here follow the Greek calendar of saints, and a few saints are kept a day apart in some Slavic churches (St. Catherine, for example, on November 24).