For each Orthodox Christian, in addition to the main church holidays, marked by the fullness of the Church of Christ, there are special personal memorable dates. Such celebrations include name day celebrations.
Often an Orthodox Christian treats his birthday as a regular calendar date. However, it is not worth saying that personal holidays are alien to the believer. The triumph of memory and celebration by the Church of the saint, by whose name a person is named, is called in the Christian tradition name days. Many birthdays themselves are called in a similar way, referring to a person as a birthday person, but this practice is not entirely appropriate.
A Christian celebrates Name Day with a special triumph. The best way to "celebrate" this holiday is the participation of a believer in the sacrament of communion, during which a person joins God. If a Christian lives in a city with a temple, where worship is performed daily, then communing on a name day is quite real. It is only necessary to adequately prepare for the sacrament according to the canons offered by the Church (three-day fasting, confession, prayer rule).
After receiving Communion on a name day, a believer can make friends, make dinner or dinner - that is, celebrate his name day as part of piety.
If it is not possible to take part in the Eucharist on the day of the name day, then the believer should honor the memory of his saint through prayer to him. You can read the akathist or canon to the saint. At present, the texts of akathists and canons to many ascetics of piety are freely available on the Internet (in case there are no such texts in the prayer book). Sometimes a problem arises when reading the canon of locally revered saints (they are not even on the World Wide Web). In this case, you can read the general canon to the saint according to the order of holiness of the latter, for example, the canon of the saint, saint, righteous, etc.
It is useful for a Christian to spend a name day reading the texts of the Holy Scriptures, the creation of the Holy Fathers. If there is a life for his saint, then a name day is more suitable than ever for reading the biography of the patron saint, describing his spiritual exploits and instructions in a pious life.
It turns out that on a name day, an Orthodox person, experiencing special spiritual joy, seeks to devote time to pious pursuits. However, this is no reason to close oneself from the world. It is quite possible to celebrate this date with your friends, the main thing is that these celebrations do not turn into revelry and indecency.
An Orthodox believer must remember: if name days fall on a fasting day, then this holiday is not a reason for conversation. If the post is not strict (not Great or Assumption), then fish is allowed to eat.
