My Nameday

Book excerpt: MY NAMEDAY—COME FOR DESSERT, which was first published in 1962, is an invitation to parents to celebrate the family’s namedays. It contains the names, feasts, and symbols of our Blessed Mother and the saints, prayers of the liturgy, and appropriate desserts for the celebration of the sanctoral cycle of the Church year in the home. A nameday commemorates the feast of the saint whose name we received at baptism. To the Church’s mind, the day of the saint’s death is his real feastday, and that is the day usually assigned as his feast—his birthday into heaven. In some countries and in most religious orders it is customary to observe namedays instead of birthdays. On a child’s nameday, “My Nameday—Come for Dessert” is a popular way to entertain. It is economical, festive and meaningful, and permits the family to splurge on a fabulous dessert without inflicting lasting wounds on the budget. It can be a “little evening”—a time for a party and a prayer for the child in the company of his friends, a time for pleasant conversation for the grown-ups who accompany them.