For every Orthodox Christian, in addition to the main church holidays celebrated by the fullness of the Church of Christ, there are also special personal memorable dates. These celebrations include name day celebrations.
Oftentimes, an Orthodox Christian treats his birthday as an ordinary date on the calendar. However, one should not say that personal holidays are alien to a believer. The celebration of memory and honoring by the Church of the saint, whose name the person is named after, is called in the Christian tradition the name day. Many people themselves call birthdays in a similar way, calling a person a birthday, but this practice is not entirely appropriate.
The Christian celebrates his name day with a special celebration. The best way to "celebrate" this holiday is the participation of a believer in the sacrament of communion, during which a person communes with God. If a Christian lives in a city with a church where divine services are held every day, then communion on the day of the name day is quite realistic. 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 the day of the name day, a believer can gather friends, arrange a dinner or lunch - that is, celebrate his name day within the framework of piety.
If it is not possible to take part in the Eucharist on the name day, then the believer must honor the memory of his saint through prayer to him. You can read an akathist or a canon to a saint. At present, the texts of akathists and canons for many devotees of piety are freely available on the Internet (in case these texts are not in the prayer book). Sometimes there is a problem with 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 the latter's holiness, for example, the canon to the saint, saint, righteous, etc.
It is useful for a Christian to spend his name day reading the texts of the Holy Scriptures, the creations of the holy fathers. If there is a life of your saint, then the name day is better than ever for reading the biography of the heavenly patron, describing his spiritual deeds and instructions in a godly life.
It turns out that on the day of the name day, an Orthodox person, experiencing special spiritual joy, seeks to devote time to pious pursuits. However, this is not a reason to close oneself off 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 lewdness.
An Orthodox believer must remember: if the name day falls on a fast day, then this holiday is not a reason for breaking the fast. If the fast is not strict (not Great or Dormition), then eating fish is allowed.
