Name day

[1] 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.

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").

By an ancient Bulgarian tradition, everybody is welcome on name days; there is no need to invite guests.

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.

[citation needed] In the past, by law, parents were not allowed to choose just any name for a child.

The original list was the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, but changes have been made to reflect the present-day usage of names.

[citation needed] However, the popularity of these names has decreased in the last years (6836 Josefs were born in 1947, but only 638 in 2014[7]).

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.

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.

In Austria and Germany name days (German: Namenstag) used to be widely popular in traditionally Catholic southern and western regions, where historically they were more important than birthdays.

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.

The tradition facilitates social interaction, as all Greek language calendars include detailed name-day lists.

Children celebrate their birthdays and name days equally festively, but as the person grows up the emphasis may shift decisively.

Optionally, an adult relative or a godparent might give pocket money to a celebrant child or teenager instead of a gift.

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 his or her needs.

[10] In Italy, one's name day is referred to as their "Onomastico [it]" (Greek: όνομα, romanized: onoma, lit. 'name').

Celebrating name days at home is similar to celebrating a birthday, although it may vary depending on the period of time between one's birthday and name day; usually, one will eat cake with household members and receive presents.

In this way, women called "Rosa" could celebrate their name on the day of Saint Rose of Viterbo in Italy, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne in France or Saint Rose of Lima on 23 August in Peru; women called "Mercedes" celebrate on 24 September, and men called "Joseph" celebrate on 19 March, regardless of whether or not they were born on those dates.

Name-days (Macedonian: Именден, Imenden) in North Macedonia have been celebrated throughout the history of this country.

A typical phrase to salute the celebrant is "Let your name last forever" ("Нека ти е вечно името", "Neka ti e vecno imeto") or "For years to come" ("За многу години" / "Za mnogu godini").

This name day varies: it is celebrated each year on the last Sunday before Orthodox Easter.

The Russian Imperial family followed a tradition of giving name-day gifts, such as a diamond or a pearl.

The original list was the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, but changes have been made to reflect the present-day usage of names.

[citation needed] In rural areas as well as among certain strata of town people the custom of celebrating name days lasted longer.

[citation needed] Nowadays, while the tradition has not been obliterated, name days are celebrated mostly among older people.

[citation needed] Until recently,[specify] name days in Spain (Spanish: onomásticos or día de mi/su santo) were widely celebrated.

[citation needed] Onomásticos are not limited to saints but also include the celebration days of the different representations of the Virgin Mary.

Currently, onomásticos are still remembered in more traditional families, but are not generally celebrated with festive parties and presents as they were in the past.

The monopoly on almanacs, held by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, expired in 1972 and so did the official name-day list.