Did People Celebrate Birthdays in the Middle Ages?

Did people celebrate birthdays in the Middle Ages? Now that is an interesting question.

People did not generally celebrate birthdays in the Middle Ages. Birthdays came from a pagan celebration, so, of course, the church didn’t like them. Christmas, on December 25, celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ (see my post about Christmas here). However, his birthday was one of the only ones commonly observed. Instead of birthdays, people in the Middle Ages celebrated name days. Name days were saint’s days. At baptism, all children received a Christian name, often derived from the name of a saint. When that saint’s day came around, people celebrated those with the same name.

Did anyone celebrate their birthday? Did name days happen on the day someone was born?

Birthdays in the Middle Ages and Before

Birthdays didn’t come from the Middle Ages. During the time of the Roman Empire, a common belief was on one’s birthday, evil, malevolent spirits had strengthened power over them. Therefore, the Romans decided that celebrating a birthday by giving presents and good wishes protected the vulnerable person.

Christians saw birthdays as pagan rituals. In the Middle Ages, people didn’t always know their birth date. They would reckon using the closest important saint’s day. Sometimes the father would write the names, birthdays, and birth years in the family Book of Hours.

Because the poor didn’t have books and often couldn’t read anyway, they didn’t always keep their birth date. Ages were often approximations as they didn’t always know their birth year either. If anyone celebrated their birthday in the Middle Ages, it was the wealthy, highborn people like the king and some of his higher-up noblemen (see my post on rich girls here and boys here).

In Roman times, blowing out candles could symbolize blowing away the evil spirits that wanted to hurt the birthday person. Blowing out candles on birthdays is a popular tradition. However, it has changed from blowing away evil spirits to granting wishes.

Name Days in the Middle Ages

If medieval people didn’t celebrate birthdays, what did they celebrate? They celebrated name days, which replaced birthdays. Every child received a Christian name at their baptism. Their Christian name was usually a saint’s or at least derived from a saint’s name.

That saint then became a personal patron saint to that child (see my post about saints here). Children could also share their names with godparents or parents, which added double meaning to the term. They enjoyed a meal with family, godparents, and sometimes friends.

Like birthdays celebrate a person for special reasons, name days did too. Rather than the day of birth which many people saw as random, name days celebrated names, which were special and important. People could give presents to loved ones on their name day.

They also spent the day learning about their name saint. People sought to emulate the saints. Setting a day aside when people gained understanding about the saint most influential in their life was encouraged by the Church. People also had the increased right to pray to their name saint and expect help.

How Did People Get Name Days?

How did people get name days? They received the name of a saint, and that saint became their heavenly patron. On the feast day, folks celebrated people with the same name as the saint. However, parents named their children in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes kids’ names were those of important people in their life, like their godparents. Kids could have up to three, so there were a few options. Two godparents were the same gender as the child, while one was the opposite gender. All three looked out for and cared for the child if its parents died.

Another way to name a child was to give it the name of the saint’s day on which it was born, or at least a variation. For example, the saint for September 3rd was Gregory the Great. While a boy could be named Gregory after him, a girl could be named Gregorina. Another reason a baby could get a name was the saint’s patronage.

St. Luke painting the Virgin by Maarten van Heemskerck

If the parents wanted the child to do something particular with their life, they might have named it after a patron saint of that thing. One example is if parents wanted their child to become an artist, they might give it the name Luke, after Saint Luke, the patron saint of artists.

Do People Still Celebrate Name Days?

Yes, people on nearly every continent and lots of counties still celebrate name days and treat them like an extra birthday. Among the countries that do, England is known for continuing to celebrate name days.

Name days have particular meaning to churches like the Catholic Church, which revere and pray to saints. Names have meaning, and people enjoy finding the meaning in their name and celebrating that it came from an inspiring and righteous person they want to be like.

Some people don’t share their first name with a saint but get a saint’s name at baptism. It’s just a bonus name that is important to their church. If they don’t belong to a church that does, they can technically choose a random day of the year to celebrate and have their family go along with them. There aren’t rules.

Names and Their Importance

Names are part of what makes us who we are. They are our identification, and every name means something. I love learning what the names of my family and friends mean. One of my brother’s first and middle names denotes a warrior and a protector. They do have slight differences.

The English fighting the French knights at the Battle of Crécy in 1346

One name signifies a young warrior, and the other is more of a courageous protector. However, his full name means warrior, which was purely coincidental. Another of my siblings’ names comes from old English and means western field or meadow.

People did not celebrate birthdays in the Middle Ages, but name days. They honored their names instead. Do you celebrate birthdays, name days, or both? Let me know in the comments!