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URBANIAK: Find your name day and what you care about

A self-learning exercise you can try this month

September is Nova Scotia Polish Heritage Month, and the theme this year is storytelling. You don’t have to be connected to Polish heritage to try a little name-day exercise this month.

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If you see a Polish wall calendar, you will notice that each day has a few names listed on it. Until recently, name days (imieniny) were bigger than birthdays in many Polish regions. They’re easier to remember, and nobody asks how old you are on your name day!

In Poland and Polish diaspora communities, the name days are rooted in Catholic popular culture: The names attached to days correspond with current or previous (or folkloric) feast days of saints.

But it’s also a very secular (non-religious) observance. This tradition is not exclusive to Poland, but it’s definitely connected to the Polish experience.

Admittedly, American influence and mass media have eaten into the name-day tradition. As a Canadian-born person of Polish heritage, I have childhood memories of my grandparents always marking their name days here in Canada, including with cards and flowers. My parents did so a little bit. But my sisters and I hardly........

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