Margarita is a very beautiful, but not very popular name in Russia. In addition, it is not on the church lists of names, and because of this, difficulties arise during baptism. Among other things, the question arises of what name to baptize Margarita and on what day she celebrates her name day. Margaritas currently have several options for solving these problems, which we will discuss in this article. But first, we will find out what a name day is in essence.
About name days
Name day is a holiday that is officially called the day of the angel. Although an angel is not an angel at all, as we imagine it, but a saint, in whose honor a person bears his name. This association is established during the sacrament of baptism, and therefore unbaptized people, in principle, cannot celebrate name days. That saint of God, whose name is given to a person in the sacrament, becomes his patron,so to speak, a patron in the spiritual life and an intercessor before the Almighty. And the day of his church memory also becomes a personal holiday of a person.
How to find out the name day?
When believers are baptized or when they baptize their children, the choice of name and patron saint is taken more than seriously and consciously. Therefore, such people do not have questions about when to celebrate and in honor of whom to celebrate. But most people take it more casually, so a few clarifications need to be made. Firstly, if a person was baptized in childhood, and he does not know in whose honor (there is no evidence, parents do not remember, etc.), then he has the right to choose any canonized saint of the same name as his patron, based on his personal likes and dislikes. If he himself cannot make a choice, then the patron is calculated according to the calendar. To do this, it is necessary to find a holy namesake in the calendar, the day of honoring which will be closer than all the others to the person’s birthday. This saint will be considered a patron. It is worth saying that once a choice is made, it is not subject to revision in the future.
Below we will talk about how to choose your patroness Margaritas, and briefly touch on the biography of their main saint.
Margarita's name day according to the church calendar
Traditionally it is believed that Margarita is a Catholic name, which is not in the Orthodox calendar. Therefore, the name day of Margarita according to the church calendarthey celebrate on the day of memory of one of the saints Marin - it is with this name that girls named Margarita are baptized. However, the situation changed somewhat in 2010, when, after the glorification of a number of holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, two Saints Margaret were introduced to the holy calendar. And now Margarita's name day, baptized after 2010, can be celebrated in their honor.
The first of them is Margarita Gunaronulo, who during her lifetime was the abbess of one of the monasteries. The problem is that she does not have her own resident day of remembrance, and therefore women placed under her protection must celebrate the day of the angel on January 25 - the day of remembrance of all the new martyrs and confessors.
The second is nun Margarita Zakachurina. Her memorial day is celebrated, in addition to the common day of commemoration of confessors and new martyrs, on December 2. Of course, they are little known, and many continue to be baptized in memory of the more famous Marina of Antioch. This is due to the fact that in the Catholic Church this ancient saint bears the name Margarita. Orthodox name days are therefore also most often timed to coincide with her memory. Thus, the choice is up to the individual.
About the Holy Martyr Margaret (Marina)
Be that as it may, most of Margaret has the honor of being the ward of this particular holy martyr. Martyr Marina (Margarita), the day of the angel, whose name day and just church memory is widely and solemnly celebrated throughout the Orthodox Church (especially in Greek jurisdictions), was born in Pisidian Antioch. Her father was a pagan priest, and whenhe learned that his daughter had converted to Christianity, he disowned her and kicked her out of the house. Together with her guardian, she began to live in the field, tending herds of animals. Once she was seen by the prefect of the region named Olymbri and, falling in love, offered her a hand and heart, while setting the condition for her to return to the bosom of the religion of her ancestors. However, Margarita, wanting to preserve her virginity and fidelity to Christ, refused. The angry ruler subjected her to torture, as a result of which she died, having previously performed a series of fantastic miracles. Among other things, she was allegedly swallowed by a dragon, but then spat her out, because she had a cross on her.
It happened, according to the life, in 304. However, many historians doubt both the historical accuracy of the story of Saint Margaret and her existence. Some experts argue that the legends about her are the development of the Christianized legend about the goddess Aphrodite. Moreover, already at the end of the 4th century, by Pope Gelasius, the cult of St. Marguerite was banned as false. Therefore, Margarita's name day was not celebrated there in her honor. However, the veneration of this saint remained in the eastern church, from where it then re-entered the western one during the Crusades. One way or another, Margarita's name day is celebrated today on July 17 according to the old style or July 30 according to the new one.
