// Well hi, I'm Maria. I believe I haven't posted in here yet, so I might as well start with this topic here.Now as I've said in the title, my Name Day is in two days. I'm a Greek Orthodox Christian. Here's what I found on Name Days to clear things up.
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In Greece and Crete it's a custom to specially celebrate your (holy) name day instead of, or besides, your birthday.
So, for instance, if your name is Giorgos, your nameday is April 23rd., Stavros is September 14th, Jannis is January 7th, Andreas is November 30th, Alexis is March 17th etc.
According to the Orthodox Church, every day of the year has been dedicated to the memory of a Saint or a martyr from the Holy Bible and Holy Tradition. This day carries the name of the Saint and it's called "nameday." If someone is named after a Saint, then there is a big celebration on his/her name day. In Greece, namedays are usually more important than birthdays. Gifts are given, festive meals and desserts are prepared, and special preparations are made for an open house. Usually, namedays are on the same date, every year. These are the non-floating namedays. There are some "floating" namedays though, that every year are on a different date.
Those who are not named after a saint have a party on All Saints' Day, 8 weeks after Easter.
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My name is Maria, so on august 15th I'm celebrating the Assumption Day - Koimisis tis Theotokos (The Virgin)
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