What is the name day and the day of the angel: what is the difference and how to celebrate them?

Name days and the day of the angel are holidays, which are not widely celebrated in modern Russia because of the lost tradition. They lost significance, due to the confusion of concepts. Many people associate these holidays with the birthday of a person. In order to understand what the name day and the day of the angel, you need to pay attention to your own name, the date of birth, as well as the history of Christianity.

What is the name day?

Birthday is the moment of the physical appearance of a new person, but this fact has nothing to do with the name day. The latter acquire their mysterious meaning and power only after the newborn is called during the baptism in the church. Therefore, name days are considered the day of spiritual birth, when the child is given the name of a certain saint. He becomes the heavenly patron of man for life.

In Russia, to find out the name of a person, they asked: "How is your holy name?" After the baby is baptized, he has not only a patron saint, but also a guardian angel. It is considered that the name day and the day of the angel are the same. Namedays are celebrated on the day of Saint, in honor of which the person is called. It often happens that this holiday coincides with the birthday or is separated by a short period of time. This is due to the fact that the child was born in honor of the Great Martyr. In modern society, children are given names that are not in the saints (the Orthodox calendar). Then the priest at a christening selects to it the second name corresponding to day christenings.

Day Angel

This holiday is strictly individual. So it was that his baptized person, named in honor of the saint during the sacrament, celebrates his. For example, if the baby (girl) was named Anna, and she was born on November 20, then her holy patron will be Saint Anne of Persia. In this case, the day of the angel according to the church calendar should be celebrated on the third of December. It happens that religious parents choose the name of their beloved saint in advance and name a child in his honor.

On the day of the angel it is customary to visit churches and temples, commune, confess, and children - to instill knowledge about the need to honor their heavenly patron. This is a special Orthodox holiday, which can not be celebrated exactly as a birthday. If a person is religious, then it is desirable to meet the angel's day not only with a feast, for example, with family or friends, but with communion, going to church, doing good deeds. If the holiday took place during the Lent on weekdays, you should transfer the meal on a Saturday or Sunday.

What is the name day and the day of the angel for believers? This is reading the prayers to the holy patron. It is imperative during the meeting of the day of the angel manifestation of sincerity, the desire to receive forgiveness, the true repentance of sins. Absence of self-interest, humility and repentance, kindness to others and to oneself - that's what it means to be under the patronage of higher forces and to receive help from them.

How celebrated the name-day in Russia?

Many people are interested in the question: "What are birthday parties and how to celebrate them?" The tradition to celebrate this day appeared in the seventeenth century. In Russia they prepared for the name-day in advance. At home they brewed beer, made pies according to special recipes, kalachi, karavai. On behalf of the name-day the whole family went to church without fail, communed, ordered and read prayers to the patron saint for health, put candles. In the evening, a birthday party was arranged for the birthday person, to which honorary guests were also invited - godparents. The decoration of the table was a birthday cake without candles. Before the departure of the guests, the birthday boy distributed to everyone cakes: rolls and pies with a special filling (cabbage, potatoes and others), which indicated the characteristics of relatives.

Day of the angel and name-day - what is the difference between these holidays? And it was not in Russia, as the birthday boy treated the patron equally and respectfully and accepted gifts. Among the church employees and royal officials, name-days were celebrated by the names of those who were widely celebrated.

Namedays in the 21st century

In the modern world, the name day and the day of the angel gradually began to lose common features. First, the newborn is given a name that most of all is liked by parents. After a while, babies are baptized according to Christian customs (or they generally skip this procedure if parents are atheists - in this case the name given at birth does not change). It so happens that the day of baptism and the name day do not coincide, then the two holidays lose their relationship.

Today, what is the name day and the day of the angel, many do not know, so they do not mark them. More attention was paid to one's own birthday and the meaning of the name given at the time of birth. Some parents and adults arrange small holidays in honor of their name-day. This is correct if a person is baptized and is named after a saint.

The Difference Between Name Day and Angel Day

In Christianity, the Day of the Angel and the name-day are synonymous. However, there are small differences. When a baby is born, according to modern church rules, in forty days it should be brought to the temple for the rite of baptism. Earlier, the choice of a name was approached very seriously and looked into the Orthodox calendar. If a child was born on the day of a certain saint, that name was given to him. Parents believed that it pleased God.

Day of the angel and name-day - what is the difference between these holidays? For Christians, there is no difference, since it did not matter much. The main thing is that in the process of baptism a spiritual bond was established between the child and the holy patron. It turned out that the christening of the baby and the name day coincided, and the line between these concepts was gradually erased. Epiphany water in the font cleanses the newborn, and the Lord bestows the guardian angel at this moment. That is why the procedure of baptism is also called patronage from above.

The Meaning of Name Day in Christianity

What are the namesakes of Christians? In religious Orthodox families, they were considered a more important holiday than the day of the birth of a child. The reason is the name of the baby by the name of the holy man, which gives the child the right to receive spiritual and physical help, support, intercession from the patron. Along the way, a newborn receives a guardian angel, who is still the same saint. It was believed that celebrating the name day once a year and honoring his angel - the duty of a baptized person.

The rite of baptism was held in Russia seven days after birth (at the present time in 40 days). The number 7 is sacred for Christians. During this time, the creation of the world continued. In each Orthodox family, the name day was celebrated widely and paid tribute to the holy patron. Before the emergence of Christianity, the name of the child was given, given the circumstances of his birth, appearance, color of eyes and hair, and character.

Define the date of the name day and the day of the angel

Today there are more than two thousand Christian names of holy people who were canonized. Name days in October, as in the other months of the year, play an important role in the religious sense. Before choosing a name for the baby (for the rite of baptism), pay attention to the following point: many saints have different dates of celebration, but the same names. To correctly determine the name day, select the closest date in the Orthodox calendar, which is celebrated as a saint's day of memory. She must follow the birthday of the baby. What is the name day and the day of the angel for the modern man, if he does not know anything about these holidays? This question can be answered independently, if there is a great desire to pay tribute to the memory of its guardian angel.

Namedays in October

Finding out about your angel's day is pretty simple. For this it is enough to look into the Orthodox calendar. Name days in October are celebrated by all who wear the canonized names of saints. Men's: Alex, Alexander, Andrei, Arkady, Anatoly, Boris, Bogdan, Vladimir, Veniamin, Vyacheslav, Grigory, Gabriel, Vladislav, Valentin. Among the women celebrate the name day in October Sofia, Uliana, Alina, Anna, Veronica, Vera, Taisia, Irina, Zinaida, Tatiana.