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There are many traditions in Greece, relating to festivals, food and culture. One of them is Greek Name Day.
In Greek Orthodox Tradition each day of the year is dedicated to a martyr or saint, renowned throughout the Greek Orthodox religion. If someone is named after one of these martyrs or saints then the day that their name falls upon would become their Greek Name Day.
Greek Name Days are highly celebrated through tour Greece and with Greek families living internationally. The greeting of “Xronia Polla!” is bestowed upon the person whose name day it is and an open house takes place where friends and family drop by, a meal is eaten and gifts are given. As with tradition, it is the Greek person who treats the visitors and welcomes them to their home to join the celebrations.
In Greek Tradition, the Greek name day is much more important than birthdays and it is highly celebrated. Most people will find that their name falls on a Greek Name Day through the yearly calendar, there are however some name days that are standard, which means they fall on the same day every year, others change from year to year, these are the ones that are usually depended on when the Greek Easter falls. Zakynthos has its very own unique calendar as well depending, where in some cases the day a Zakynthian celebrates may not be with the rest of Greece. For those who do not have a Greek Name Day, they can still celebrate on a special All Saints Day, which usually falls 8 weeks after Easter.
