Why does France have name days?

Answer 1

In the past in France, children were given the name of the Saint on whose day they were born. Every day of the year has its own saint, often more than one. However, as people became more adventurous with their choice of baby names (and anyway, who wants everybody born at the same time to be called the same thing!), that practice is dying out. Sometimes the Saint's name is used as a middle name, but that is rare too. But what has stuck is the celebration of the 'name day'. As well as a birthday, French people celebrate 'their' Saint's day too. My son is Benjamin. His birthday is 2nd December but his name day is 31st March, which is St Benjamin's Day. It's lower key than a birthday with just sweets and a cake usually. But it's always nice to celebrate.

Hope this helps. Stephanie