Celebrating Name-days
Once a year, a person celebrates an anniversary of a special date that is unique to the individual. A birthday? Well, yes, but in Slovakia there is another event that is notable—the name-day. The name-day is important and is often celebrated similarly to a birthday. A person might get a small gift, flowers or even a cake. What is expected is to wish the person celebrating a name-day “Všetko najlepšie” – “All the best”, and a handshake, or a kiss on both cheeks if you are close to that person.
So where does the tradition of the name-day come from?
According to Slovak tradition, almost every day of the calendar year has a name or two (male, female or both) assigned to it; for example, September 2 is Linda and September 21 is Matuš (Matthew). The names are generally those of Catholic saints that have dates associated with them on the church calendar. Others are popular names that have been assigned a random date on the calendar. Someone can have a birthday and name-day in the same month or at opposite times of the year.
Over the centuries, during the times when country folk didn’t have access to calendars or were unable to read, the name-days were used as a kind of marker of time through the year and short expressions or legends became attached to the names. For example, November 11 is the day of Martin. The pagan feast of the winter solstice began around this time. According to folk legend, it is said that “St. Martin came riding into town on his white horse” on that day, meaning that the snow season is marked to begin anytime from November 11 onward.
May 12, 13, and 14 are named for the saints Pankrác, Servác, and Bonifác, respectively. Up until this time of the year in Slovakia, the weather in spring is highly variable and the threat of cold and frost to crops is always present. It is said that Pankrác, Servác, and Bonifác are the “frozen men” who bring cold weather. According to the cycles of nature that had been observed, if it is freezing on these days, there will be a longer threat of cold weather and a greater possibility of damage to crops. If it doesn’t freeze on these days, then the threat of continued frost is said to have passed.
There are hundreds of sayings that have developed by combining the name-day with the seasonal changes in nature. In the table are a few sayings for different name days:
| September 21 | Ak je na Matúša jasno, býva na budúci rok dobré víno. | If on Matthew’s day it’s a clear day, there usually is good wine the next year. |
| October 16 | Svätý Havel prácu na poli zastavuje. | St. Havel stops work in the field. |
| November 25 | Katarína na ľade, Vianoce na blate. | Katherine’s day in ice means Christmas in mud. |
| November 30 | Ak na Ondreja lietajú včely, bude neúrodný rok. | If on Andrew’s day bees are flying, it will not be a fertile year. |
A full list of Slovak name-days is located in the Resources section.
This article was originally published in the Fall 2006 edition of the Slovakia newsletter, editor Helene Cincebeaux.
