On what dates are Natalia’s name days celebrated?
The following dates are marked in the Orthodox calendar:
- January 11;
- March 22;
- March 31;
- 8 September;
- September 14.
Three Great Martyrs Natalya are immediately associated with the January date: Sundukova, Siluyanova and Vasilyeva. The first two were canonized in 2000, so the celebration of name days refers to girls whose birth was in this year or subsequent ones.
Name days are celebrated twice in March. On March 22, Natalia Ulyanova is revered, who favors women born from February to March 22. She devoted almost her entire life to serving God.
Another patron is Natalia Baklanova (March 31). She was a nun at the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow. In troubled times, she continued to bring Orthodoxy to the people. Because of this, she was sent into exile, where she died.
The main name day is popularly considered September 8th. From this day on, in some regions of Russia, the harvest of oats begins. Because of this, Natalia is sometimes called “fescue.” In villages there is a tradition of making pancakes from oatmeal jelly. Weddings are often held in September, and newlyweds most often choose Natalia's name day for such an event.
On September 14, it is customary to honor Natalia Kozlova. She was canonized in 2004. It is those girls whose births fell in subsequent years that she patronizes. She lived a short life, but until the last she helped those in need.
We also advise you to read the article about when Maxim’s name day is.
What is Angel Day?
It is necessary to distinguish between two different concepts: angel's day and name day.
Name day is the day of remembrance of the saint whose name a person bears. This holiday is also called namesake day.
Angel Day is the date on which a person was baptized and, according to church teaching, received his guardian angel for his entire earthly life.
Previously, as a rule, at baptism a child was named after a saint, whose memory was celebrated on this day according to the church calendar, and therefore the day of the angel and the name day coincided in date.
Nowadays there is no longer a practice of giving a name after the day of baptism, but another name is still firmly attached to the name day - the day of the angel, so the name day will be understood as the day of the angel.
According to church teaching, at baptism an Orthodox Christian is given two heavenly patrons: a guardian angel assigned to a person to protect him from troubles and sins, and a saint of the same name to the Christian, who will help a person overcome earthly difficulties and pray for his ward in heaven.
Therefore, you need to know your patron saint, the history of his earthly life, for what and under what circumstances he was canonized, and, if necessary, turn to your patron with prayers, honor and remember him.
Martyr Natalia of Nicomedia
She is the most famous saint of this name. In Orthodoxy, she is classified as a special category of martyrs - bloodless. They died not from shed blood (for example, execution or torture), but from mental or heart torment.
Natalia of Nicomedia lived in the 9th century. Her husband, Adrian, is also a holy martyr. However, he was originally a pagan, while Natalia was a Christian. Adrian believed in Jesus Christ while observing the torture of Christians.
He was so surprised by their resilience that he converted to Christianity, which is why he was also subjected to terrible torture, during which Natalia supported him.
The meaning of the name Natalya
Natalya, Natasha, Natasha Rostova is the favorite heroine of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. In this image, he merged into one the charm and charm of youth, sensitivity and ardor, the ability to live life to the fullest, inner beauty, through which the harmony of human nature is achieved. With the light hand of the writer, the image of Natasha became the ideal of a woman. Following this, the popularity of the name Natalia increased sharply. Of course, the name Natalya was known earlier; it was especially loved in noble families. And in this sense, it is no coincidence that Tolstoy uses it in the novel.
The name Natalya is Late Latin in origin. It is part of the phrase “Nativity of the Lord” - “Natalis Domini”. The adjective “natalis” itself is usually translated as “Christmas” or “pertaining to birth.”
By the way, in Italy Christmas is called Natale. This name is very popular in Europe, although its sound is somewhat different. So among the British, Germans and French - this is Natalie. And the diminutive forms of the name sound like Netty, Nata and Nana. But the Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Hungarians, Romanians and Greeks still retain the Natalia we know. It was this church form of the name that was popular in Russia until the October Revolution.
After the revolution, the requirements for the preparation of legal documents changed, in which the name by which you were called was to be recorded. And since in everyday life you are Natalia, then in documents you cannot be recorded as Natalia, even if you were baptized in honor of the holy martyr Natalia.
The holy martyrs Adrian and Natalia are revered by all branches of the Christian Church. The Russian Orthodox Church remembers them on September 8 and honors them as the patrons of a happy marriage. It is possible that Leo Tolstoy used the name Natalya in his novel, remembering precisely these holy martyrs. In any case, Natasha Rostova, despite life’s ups and downs and experiences, is shown by the writer as a caring wife and mother.
In 1967, Sergei Bondarchuk’s film epic “War and Peace” was released in the USSR - one of the largest government projects in Soviet cinema. Two years later, War and Peace already won an Oscar.
Lyudmila Savelyeva, who played the role of Natalia Rostova, kinopoisk.ru
And although the film gained incredible popularity thanks to its grandiose battle scenes, the use of new technologies in panoramic shooting and the colossal budget, Lyudmila Savelyeva in the role of Natasha Rostova was unforgettable. By the way, it was Savelyeva who received the Oscar for best foreign language film on behalf of the entire film crew.
The second wave of growing interest in the name Natalya was recorded by experts precisely in the seventies. The name Natalya not only became one of the three most popular names in the country, but in 1975, 15 percent of newborn girls in the country became owners of this name. It should be noted that interest in the name Natalya did not wane until the end of the 20th century. This name was consistently among the top ten most popular names. And only at the beginning of the 2000s it left its place in the ranking, sharply falling to 20th point. In the last ten years, the name Natalya, by a strange coincidence, has not even been included in the top thirty common names. Natalia is a rare name today.
Venerable Martyr Natalia Ulyanova
From 1910 to 1922, Natalia Ulyanova served in the Novodevichy Convent until it was closed. After this, her life changed dramatically.
The new government turned the former monasteries into communal apartments, in which the residents were hostile to Orthodox people.
Ulyanova had to live in one of these apartments. She had to do hard physical labor to feed herself.
In 1938, several witnesses reported to investigators that they allegedly heard Natalia Ulyanova criticizing the local authorities and claiming that people had a hard time on the collective farm. After this she was taken into custody.
She refused the accusations and stated that she had never uttered such words and had never incited anyone against the Soviet regime. Natalia Ulyanova was sentenced to death. She was buried in a common grave on March 22 of the same year.
Holy Martyrs
Adrian witnessed all these terrible tortures. He was surprised by how much patience and with a smile on their lips the prisoners endured all the abuse and torture. Under this impression, Adrian asked them about God. And during this conversation, the grace of God touched his kind soul, and suddenly he realized the divine truth. Then Adrian told the scribes to write down his name next to these Christian martyrs, because he also wants to become one of them and is also ready to die for Christ. Then the guards threw him into prison and put him in chains. At that time he was 28 years old.
Natalia Baklanova
From the age of 13 she led services at the Novodevichy Convent. With the advent of Soviet power, severe persecution of believers began. After that, she had to work as a cleaner, and she also helped with housekeeping for various people.
In 1937 she was arrested. The reason for this was ignorance of public works. She never showed up to meetings.
Natalia Baklanova was also accused of counter-revolutionary activities; she and former nuns allegedly criticized the Soviet regime.
She denied all charges. In January she was sent into exile in Siberia. However, the terrible conditions were too much for the woman. Natalia Baklanova became very ill and later died in hospital on March 31. She was buried in an unmarked grave.
Characteristics of the name
Natalya is a soft and calm person with a strong character. As a child, this girl is energetic, cheerful, and lively. Despite her eccentric character, Natasha is a good student and takes an active part in public affairs. A woman with this name is a kind, sympathetic person. You can rely on her, she will not betray or judge. But Natasha reacts very painfully to criticism. Her resentment often turns into tears. Natalia are good friends, they will always come to the aid of those who need them. Their interests in the professional sphere are very diverse, but the main thing is that if Nata takes on any task, she does it conscientiously and responsibly.
From the article you learned the meaning, characteristics of the name, as well as when Natalia’s name day (date). All this data confirms that the girl, named with the beautiful name Natasha, will grow up to be a person with the most beautiful qualities of her soul.
Natalia Kozlova
From early childhood, the girl was taught Christianity. She read Orthodox books and attended services. Natalia married the no less religious Stepan Kozlov, with whom she gave birth to eight children.
However, when the time of revolutions and changes in power began, misfortunes began to befall the family. The husband died, the horse was taken from the farm for non-payment of state taxes. Great difficulties were placed on Natalia's shoulders.
However, despite the difficulties, she became a model of faith in God. Natalia Kozlova was appointed treasurer, and later - elder, in the local church. She did a great job for Orthodoxy.
In 1937, Natalia was accused of agitating the people against local authorities and conducting anti-Soviet activities. She denied all accusations against her. She was arrested and sentenced to death - execution, which was carried out on September 14.
How to celebrate angel day
Even in the last century, for an Orthodox Christian this date was much more important than his own birthday. On this day, the birthday person received postcards, listened to congratulatory poems addressed to him, and nowadays few people celebrate their angel day. We rarely congratulate our loved ones on this date, and, I must say, it is completely in vain.
A person is always spiritually enriched by knowledge of the history of his family, the history of his surname and his name, because a name is not an empty phrase, and it is not for nothing that the Orthodox Church has a tradition of giving names in honor of saints, to whom one can later turn for help and prayers.
If a person calls himself an Orthodox Christian, then he should know what date his own name day is celebrated. It is also worth asking when the name day of people from your inner circle is, and by what date you should prepare congratulations on Angel’s Day.
According to church tradition, on name day it would be good to visit church and take part in the sacrament of communion, and after that, arrange a small feast, the main decoration of which will be personalized poems, congratulations and wishes, which can also be in verse. The main thing is not to slide into a banal and noisy feast with copious amounts of food and drinking alcohol. Still, you need to not lose the main theme of the holiday and celebrate it in the spirit of the event.
It is very good if certain traditions develop in the family to celebrate this day. It is advisable to instill in your child respect and veneration for this date from childhood, then he will have an additional personal holiday and a reason to meet with family and friends every year.
If you need to congratulate someone close to you on Angel's Day, then it is better to give a gift in the theme of the holiday. For example, on Natalya’s name day you can give a book describing the origin of the name and the biography of the saint. An icon depicting the patron saint or a poem on the topic would also be appropriate as a gift.
For this occasion, you can find on sale all kinds of Happy Angel Day cards with congratulations in verse for every taste and request. It would be great if the poems were written personally for the day of the angel of a particular Natalia.
Short congratulations on Angel's Day can be done in the form of an inscription on souvenirs. Congratulations in verse will look especially cute.
In any case, any themed gift will be very useful and can cheer up the birthday boy for the whole day.
Prayer to Saint Natalia
Oh, holy servant of God Natalia, having fought a good deed on earth, you have received in heaven the crown of righteousness, which the Lord has prepared for all who love Him; In the same way, looking at your holy image, we rejoice at the glorious end of your life and honor your holy memory. You, standing before the Throne of God, accept our prayers and bring them to the All-Merciful God, to forgive us every sin and help us against the wiles of the devil, so that, having been delivered from sorrows, illnesses, troubles and misfortunes and all evil, we will live piously and righteously in this present age, we will be worthy through your intercession, even though we are unworthy, to see good on the land of the living, glorifying the One in His saints, glorifying God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
