Name Days in Greece

According to the Orthodox Church, every day of the year has been named after a Saint or a martyr from the Holy Bible. This day carries the name of the Saint and it's called nameday; (“Yiorti,” in Greek). Most Cretans are named after a Saint and there is another excuse for a big celebration on his/her name day. The ten most popular Cretan names are: Maria - August 15 Georgios - April 23 Emmanouil - December 26 Ioannis - January 7 Nikolaos - December 6 Eleni - May 21 Michail - November 8 Aikaterina - November 25 Konstantin - May 21 Dimitrios - October 26 In Greece, namedays are usually more important than birthdays. Gifts are given, (the most popular being flowers and cakes), festive meals and desserts are prepared, and special preparations are made for an open house. A feast is laid on for everyone who wants to come. Neighbours and friends or relatives usually call and can visit the house, without waiting for an official invitation, although nowadays, with work issues, an invitation is required. Usually, namedays are on the same date, every year. Those who are not named after a saint have a party on All Saints' Day, eight weeks after Easter. And so, you celebrate as if it was your birthday, because in the Greek Orthodox church it is actually is your “birthday.” Receiving the name of a Christian saint through baptism is your first day, your birthday, in your life as a Greek Orthodox Christian. You are the one who buys the drinks and the kerasma, the savoury and the sweet, when you celebrate both your name day and your birthday. The notion of kerazma dates back to basic Greek hospitality, or “philoxenia.” No respectable Greek would allow you to come into his or her home without offering you at the very least a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and even more so at a time when you are celebrating a special occasion. In some Greek homes there is a link for each family member to their saint by way of an icon. One wall or corner in the home is dedicated to a display of icons displaying the saints of the family members, as well as a crucifix, an icon of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ and/or the Holy Trinity. It is known as the “iconostasio” of the home. Often icons are handed down from generation to generation. On the day of your saint’s feast day, you will receive plenty of phone calls, text messages and nowadays some Facebook posts wishing you well. This is all a part of the name day ritual. The traditional wish in Greek is “Xronia Polla”, which translates to “May you have many years.” Manos is a popular male name in Crete and July 10th is his name day. We happened to be at our local café on this day and people were shouting “Xronia Polla” to passers-by and car drivers every few minutes! Most Greeks celebrate their birthday as well as their name day. While it is still considered a foreign custom, as Greece has become increasingly westernized, birthday celebrations are very common now. But if you were to ask grandparents or older people in Greece, they might not even be able to give you the exact date they were born. The date on their birth certificate and legal documents will be an estimate, a day their parents thought was close enough to the real one. So give your child a Greek name and he or she can celebrate twice a year. Maybe not – it could turn out to be a bit expensive!!!!