Most countries celebrate birthdays
but there are some that celebrate name days. Looking up at the Wikipedia one
could say that there are many that celebrate name days. But my experience does
not confirm that. So, for those who have not heard about name days here it
goes:
A name day is a tradition in some countries
in Europe, Latin America, and Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries
in general. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated
with one's given name. The
celebration is similar to a birthday.
The custom originated with the Christian calendar of saints:
believers named after a saint would
celebrate that saint's feast day, or in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the day
of a saint's death. Name days have greater resonance in the Catholic and
Orthodox parts of Europe; Protestant churches practice less veneration of
saints. In many countries, however, name-day celebrations no longer have
connection to explicitly Christian traditions.
My name is Anna
and my name day falls in 26th of July. At least that is how it is in
Poland where my roots are. It has been only some days ago that it was my name
day. Of course, nobody here in Sydney made any fuss of me on the account of
this day, except for some Polish friends. Thank you all of you who still
remember the Polish ways and me. However, I received unexpected greetings
coming from the Polish friends and one very special Skype call from Poland. The
call was from my best girlfriend, I have written in my previous post about, and
her grandchildren. The cute four-and-a-half-year-old dressed in a party dress
sang the birthday song with the help of the whole family. Her one-year old
brother seemed also very happy looking with admiration at his older sister
making funny noises. This was indeed special to me. Thank you, little ones and
the grownups!
The next day I
received a parcel from the
same friends with my name day present. It should not surprise anyone that it
was a book. This time the book in Polish and by Polish authors Jacek Dehnel and
Piotr Tarczynski who publish their crime stories under the name of Maryla
Szymiczkowa. I know, this is a very Polish unpronounceable name. The finesse
and humor of the story is difficult to explain in English, so I will not try,
at least not this time. It is a great present, and the parcel fillers were also
gratefully received, especially some soup ingredients to improve my cooking.
| The authors of my new book |
The authors of my present are a
couple and I believe that their crime stories, which are very funny, give the
authors as much joy and laughs as those of us who read the books. I have known
writing of Jacek Dehnel since the beginningof his career as a writer. He
published his first book Lala when he was only 26. It was at the time when I
went to live in Poland. I visited book shops frequently and Lala caught my
attention by its cover, picture of the author and the write up about Jacek
Dehnel. Stories about him and interviews were very much up in your face. He is
gay and he seemed to be provocatively teasing the Catholic Poland treating his
preferences as natural. Naturally they are natural, but he was rather outspoken
about it. I love his dress sense and this was also provocative as well as most
likely pleasing his aesthetic tastes. I could not find his photos of the time
but he went for walks in a black cape with red satin lining, walking stick with
silver head and a top hat. His taste has
mellowed with years but he is still an elegant dresser not following any
current trends but his own pleasure. Actually, I concentrated on things that
are not important but fun nevertheless. It was easy to lose my way as there is
so much about this Renaissance man. He is a writer, poet, photographer and
there is more to him than that. But he was not to be the subject of my story.
It
was supposed to be about name days so I finish with a nice image of such days
in a Swedish style and maybe write some more about Jacek Dehnel works some
other time.
