When are Denis's name-days celebrated?

Many parents now call children bychurch calendar. Some even consider this method to be traditional. But sometimes a child is named after grandfather, grandmother, some hero or simply because of the euphonious name. For example, Denis is a fairly common male name. The names of Denis in the church calendar are celebrated 17 times a year, almost every month. How to understand what kind of Denis is needed? And when is Denis's birthday party?

How to choose a day?

According to the ecclesiastical tradition, every time when in the saintsa certain name is mentioned, a day of remembrance of the saint who is wearing 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, the author of several books. And on July 9, St. Dionysius of Suzdal. It seems that the names of Dionysius and Denis are different. In fact, Dionysius is a church form of the name Denis.

Your saint can be chosen by severalways. For example, if from all the saints Dionysius most like any one, it is possible to appoint a name day on this day, consider him the patron of the child (or his patron). Then Denis's birthday will be on the day of the celebration of this saint. The biography of the saints can be found in the collection of the Lives of the saints of St. Demetrius of Rostov. True, these descriptions were collected long ago, and there is no mention of the new righteous. In order to read about the martyrs and the righteous of the 19th and 20th centuries, one must buy a separate volume. But if there is no desire to delve into the details of the lives of the saints, usually the name days are celebrated on the first day of memory after the birthday.

How to celebrate this day?

Name days are sometimes called Angel Day, which is notquite right. The guardian angel is given to man at birth, and people do not know what his name is. The names of Denis are the day of the memory of the saint, after whom this boy is named.

Usually on this day it is customary to visit the temple andthank God for having lived for another year, for all the good that has happened during this time. Orthodox people prepare for the sacrament and receive Holy Communion of the Holy Mysteries. Any baptized person can take communion, only it is necessary to prepare beforehand.

A child, starting from three years old, should not eat before the communion, and adults and children of school age should already confess.

Do we need a party?

After service, the participle person triesto spend this day calmly, peacefully and as possibly sinless. Namedays are often celebrated. This is a good tradition, but only if the guests understand that they came to congratulate a person on Angel's Day, and not on the evening of dancing.

In the Great Lent, Denis's name day of 2013 falls outonly twice: on March 23 and 28. Usually at this time people try not to invite guests, do not make noisy parties, because fasting is the days of repentance and prayer, not entertainment.

But if Denis's birthday party, which happened in the post,parents and close friends will come, ready to share with him a bright spiritual joy, do not deny them this pleasure. In the name of love, it is better to receive guests, not to upset your loved ones. You can serve refreshments, you can and refuse to drink alcohol. Communicating with friends, power conversations on useful topics is the ideal of lenten communion.