Today, in our country, the tradition of choosing the name of the child according to the calendar is gaining great popularity. Calling a child according to the calendar is an ancient Orthodox tradition.
Saints (months) is a calendar with records of days of remembrance of saints and church holidays. As a rule, parents who choose a name for a child according to the calendar believe that the saint in whose honor the child was named will be his heavenly patron, guardian angel and intercessor, and will protect him from all sorts of troubles throughout his life. A saint to whom a child, and later an adult, could turn for prayer help. Others, guided by the calendar, wish to choose rare, almost forgotten, Russian names for their children, for example, Varvara, Ulyana, Timofey, Zakhar, Makar.
When choosing a name according to the calendar, you need to be guided by the child's birthday. Each of the days of the year is dedicated to the celebration of the memory of this or that saint. But it happens that on the day the child is born, there is no suitable name, for example, you have a girl, and on this day only the memory of male saints is celebrated. Then you can choose a name from those saints whose memory is glorified on the 8th day from the birthday of the child. In ancient times, children were given names in this way, since the number 8 means eternity (infinity). If a suitable name was not found before eight days from the date of birth, then you can look at the names on the fortieth day, because it is on this day that the child must visit the temple for the sacrament of baptism. The name given to a child or adult at baptism does not change throughout life, except in rare circumstances, for example, taking monastic vows.
If the child was named with a non-Orthodox name, then at his baptism, as a rule, a name consonant with the Orthodox one is chosen. The name day is the day of the glorification of the saint in whose honor the child was named, this day is also called differently, the day of the Angel or the day of the namesake. It often happens that the days of the memory of your saint are celebrated several times during the year, or more than once saints are found in the calendar (church calendar) with the same names. In this case, those close to your birthday is considered your name day, and the rest of the days of your saint's memory are called small name days.
To name a child according to the calendar, you need to refer to the Orthodox calendar of names. Also, this calendar will help you find your name day, for those who do not know it.
