Sunday, December 28, 2008

What is an "onomastico" day?

Having grown up in a Calvinist country I never knew anybody who celebrated their own or another's onomastico. Then, a non-practicing Orthodox from Eastern Europe married into the family and his onomastico day was more important to him than his own birthday.

An onomastico day is your saint's day. At baptism everybody gets a Christian name. On Palm Sunday in the year of salvation 1979 I received the Sacrament of Baptism and was given the name John. So, December 27th is my onomastico day, the feast of St. John.

Try to celebrate your name day. Have a devotion to your saint. Read the lives of the saints. Follow the Church's liturgical calendar. Enrich your life and that of your family.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A belated blessed Name Day to you!

Curiosus Omnium Rerum Spectator said...

Dear John, I think your onomastico is on 24th June, the Feast of St John the Baptist. The Johns I know that have St John the Apostle as Patron are "Evangelista" by name (like Evangelista Torricelli, the inventor of the barometer). Anyway, of course you can chose to be under the protection of St John, the Beloved Disciple, rather than St John the Precursor... or why not both? (the Lateran Basilica honours the two Johns: Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sancti Iohannes Baptista et Evangelista in Laterano
)...

Anonymous said...

Buona festa di San Giovanni (anziché un po' in ritardo). Tim