Many parents now name their children according to the church calendar. Some even consider this method traditional. But sometimes a child is named after a grandfather, grandmother, some hero, or simply because of the euphony of the name. For example, Denis is a fairly common male name. According to the church calendar, Denis's name day is celebrated 17 times a year, almost every month. How to understand what kind of Denis is needed? And when is Denis' name day?
How to choose a day?
According to church tradition, every time a certain name is mentioned in the holy calendar, the day of memory of the saint who bore it is celebrated. For example, on October 16, the memory of the great saint Dionysius the Areopagite is celebrated. He was a teacher of the Church and the author of several books. And on July 9 - St. Dionysius of Suzdal. It seems that the names Dionysius and Denis are different. In fact, Dionysius is the church form of the name Denis.
You can choose your saint in several ways. For example, if of all the Saints of Dionysius, one is most liked, it is quite possible to appoint a name day on this day, consider him the patron of the child (or his patron). Then the name day of Denis will be on the day of the celebration of this saint. With biographySaints can be found in the collection of Lives of the Saints of St. Dimitri Rostovsky. True, these descriptions were collected long ago, and there is no mention of the new righteous. In order to read about the martyrs and righteous people of the 19th and 20th centuries, you need to purchase a separate volume. But if there is no desire to delve into the details of the lives of the saints, then usually the name day is celebrated on the first day of memory after the birthday.
How to celebrate this day?
Name days are sometimes also called Angel Day, which is not entirely correct. A guardian angel is given to a person at birth, and people do not know his name. Denis' name day is the day of memory of the saint, in whose honor this boy is named.
Usually on this day it is customary to visit the temple and thank God for living another year, for all the good that has happened during this time. Orthodox people prepare for communion and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Any baptized person can take communion, but you must first prepare.
It is enough for a child from the age of three not to eat before communion, and adults and children of school age should already go to confession.
Do you need a party?
After the service, the person who takes communion tries to spend this day calmly, peacefully and as sinlessly as possible. Name days are often celebrated. This is a good tradition, but only if the guests understand that they came to congratulate the person on Angel Day, and not for an evening of dancing.
On Great Lent, Denis' name day in 2013 falls only twice: 23 andMarch 28th. Usually at this time, people try not to invite guests, not to have noisy parties, because fasting is a day of repentance and prayer, not entertainment.
But if parents and close friends come to Denis's name day, which happened in Lent, ready to share bright spiritual joy with him, you should not deny them this pleasure. In the name of love, it is better to receive guests, not to upset loved ones. Treats can be served lean, you can refuse to drink alcohol. Communication with friends, sedate conversations on useful topics - this is the ideal of Lenten communication.
