In Greece a person’s namesday is given greater import that their birthday; although even in Greece they are (unfortunatly in my opinion), following western and American customs and celebrating birthdays, haloween and valentines.

Why not find out when your Greek neighbours and Greek friends namesdays are. You can then follow the tradition of buying them a gift from the local sweet and pastry shop and you never know they might even invite you to their namesday party which consists of open house and, usually, a great feast of tradition Greek food.

There is a tradition for naming the first son after the paternal grandfather and the oldest daughter after her paternal grandmother. Greek names are usually of religious origin. Each island  in Greece has a patron saint, and each town or area has a church named after its patron saint. You therefore find lots of people in those places sharing the same first name.  

There are special feast days for each saint and people who share that name celbrate their names day on that panayiri. A person’s name day is the feast day of the saint after which they were named; however as well as religous names, namesdays include the names of famous Greek mythical characters and philosophers.

To find out your or your neighbours namesday go to:  http://www.namedays.gr/index_uk.php

My friend Nico's namesday party