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.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0sweet and pastry shop\u00a0and 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.<\/p>\n
There is a tradition for naming the\u00a0first son after the paternal grandfather and the oldest daughter after her paternal grandmother. Greek names are usually of religious origin.\u00a0Each island\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
To find out your or your neighbours namesday go to: \u00a0http:\/\/www.namedays.gr\/index_uk.php<\/a><\/p>\n
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