Names day parties

[valpomike]

I understand that in Poland, the names day, is as big as a birthday. Why is this? What do they do special for this day?
When did this start? Is it just another way for a party?

[Bonobo]

Jun 5, 2008 21:21:05 GMT 1 valpomike said:

I understand that in Poland, the names day, is as big as a birthday. Why is this? What do they do special for this day?
When did this start? Is it just another way for a party?

They just throw a party, with heavy eating and usually drinking too, sometimes dancing, mostly at home, rarely at a restaurant.

I am not sure when it originated, will have to google, but the reason is simple: only children and youngsters celebrate their birthdays until reaching 18 years of age. After that adults prefer celebrating name days because birthdays remind them of their age.

Aaah, 40 year old people celebrate their birthdays too.

[gigi]

This is interesting, Mike. I am glad you brought up this topic.

I found this information on pastprologue:

Name days, which are the church’s feast day of the saint that bears one’s name, have long been considered important in many Catholic cultures. Even today in Poland, a person’s name day, called imieniny, is celebrated in lieu of or in addition to a birthday. But in the past, the name day and the birthday were the same day, because Catholic Polish tradition held that you actually named the child after the saint who held the feast on the day the child was born or baptized! Sometimes the saint’s name was used if the feast was within a few days of the child’s birth and not the same day.

And from PolandPoland:

If you have ever seen a Polish calendar, you may have noticed that each day of the year has a name on it. Names appear on almost every Polish calendar and indicate what is called imieniny or “name day”, the feast day of the saint for whom you are named. Poles over the age of thirteen usually celebrate their imieniny, rather than their birthdays (urodziny).

In Poland, name days are a special time for family and friends to gather. Sometimes friends and family simply stop by to wish the person celebrating their name day Wszystkiego najlepszego! (All the best!) and Sto lat! (A hundred years!). If gifts are given, they are usually small. Most often, guests bring flowers or chocolates, whether it be for a man or a woman. Sometimes people bring vodka and share a drink or two!

Birthday celebrations can be a lot of fun, but sometimes people get overly focused on the planning and the gifts. The name day celebration seems to focus more on the person and the simple pleasure of a casual gathering with family and friends.

Here is a link if you want to view the Polish names day calendar:
www.calendar.sk/nameday-swplhor.php

[Bonobo]

Jun 6, 2008 14:45:54 GMT 1 gigi said:

And from Poland Poland:


In Poland, name days are a special time for family and friends to gather. Sometimes friends and family simply stop by to wish the person celebrating their name day Wszystkiego najlepszego! (All the best!) and Sto lat! (A hundred years!). If gifts are given, they are usually small. Most often, guests bring flowers or chocolates, whether it be for a man or a woman. Sometimes people bring vodka and share a drink or two!

[/i][/quote]

Sharing a drink or two regularly turns into sharing a few bottles. People really exaggerate with alcohol at nameday parties. Later the news everywhere are full of reports about thousands of drunk drivers caught by the police on popular namedays. r