Name Days in Cyprus: What They Are, When They Fall and How to Celebrate

A name day, or giorti (γιορτή), is the feast day of the saint you are named after, and in Cyprus it is often a bigger deal than a birthday. On the day you say "Chronia polla" to anyone celebrating, and they usually bring sweets to work or school. December and January are the busiest weeks of the year, so this is the moment to learn the dates.

If you have just started a job in Nicosia or Limassol, you will notice it quickly: one morning there is a tray of pastries in the kitchen, the phone of the person who brought them does not stop ringing, and everyone wishes them "many years". Below we explain what is going on, which dates to put in your calendar and how to join in without getting the etiquette wrong.

What is a name day in Cyprus?

Most Greek Cypriots are Greek Orthodox (the Deputy Ministry of Tourism's own overview says so), and children are traditionally baptised with a saint's name. The Church remembers a saint or event on every day of the year, so each name comes with a date. Andreas celebrates on 30 November, the feast of the Apostle Andrew; Eleni and Konstantinos on 21 May, the feast of Saints Constantine and Helen; Maria on 15 August.

Two things make name days feel different from birthdays:

• Everyone knows the date. You don't need to remember a colleague's birthday, but almost everyone knows that 15 December is St Eleftherios, so all the Lefteris and Eleftherias in the office will be celebrating at once.
• It is shared. Because so many Cypriots share a handful of names (Andreas, Georgios, Maria, Christos, Panagiotis), a single date can mean wishes for a dozen people in one family.

That is why many Cypriots, especially older people, treat the name day as the main celebration of the year and keep birthdays low-key.

How do Cypriots celebrate a name day?

There is no fixed ritual, but the same habits come up again and again.

• The greeting. "Chronia polla" (Χρόνια πολλά), literally "many years", is the wish for the person celebrating. Relatives and friends call or send a message in the morning, and social media fills up with wishes for every Andreas and Maria you know.
• The celebrant treats others. It is the person with the name day who brings the sweets, not the other way round. At work that means a box of pastries, biscuits or a cake in the kitchen; at school, children often hand out sweets to their classmates.
• An open house or a meal out. Traditionally friends and family could drop by in the evening without a formal invitation, and the host would have sweets, drinks and snacks ready. Today it is just as common to book a table at a tavern or a bar, or to keep it to a family dinner.
• Small gifts. Guests who visit bring something modest: flowers, a box of sweets, a bottle of wine or a small personal present.
• Church. Some people go to the morning liturgy, especially when a church in their village or neighbourhood is dedicated to their saint and holds its feast that day.

What should expats do on a colleague's or neighbour's name day?

You don't have to do much, but a little effort is noticed and appreciated.

A few practical tips:

• Keep a list. Put the main dates in your phone's calendar for the colleagues, neighbours and friends you see often. If you are unsure, look the name up on a Greek name-day calendar such as eortologio.gr.
• Ask which day they use. Some names have more than one date (Nikolaos also appears on 14 April, Dimitrios on 28 May), and the person chooses one.
• If it is your own name day. If your name has a Greek equivalent (John is Ioannis, Helen is Eleni, Stephen is Stefanos), Cypriot colleagues may wish you "Chronia polla" too. Bringing a box of sweets to the office is a nice way to join in.
• For your children. If your child wants to take sweets to school on their name day, check with the teacher first; schools often have rules on food in class, and many parents now prefer individually wrapped treats.

Which name days fall in December and January?

The weeks around Christmas are the busiest of the year. These are the main dates of the festive season, from the Greek Orthodox calendar on eortologio.gr, with the day of the week for this season.

St Spyridon is a local favourite: his monastery is at Tremetousia, in the north of the island, and his feast is on 12 December. In practice, the 1 January and 6 January name days are swallowed up by the holidays themselves: St Basil's day is also the day of the vasilopita, and Epiphany is the day of the blessing of the waters. See our guides to vasilopita and New Year traditions and Epiphany (Fota) in Cyprus.

Ioannis and Ioanna are common names, and 7 January lands the day after Epiphany, when many people are back at work. Expect a lot of sweets in offices that morning.

What are the biggest name days of the year?

Beyond the festive season, these are the dates when it feels as if half the island is celebrating.

Andreas deserves a special mention in Cyprus: it is so common that many families have at least one, and 30 November is a feast day of the Apostolos Andreas monastery on the Karpasia peninsula. Apostle Barnabas is also closely tied to the island: he preached here with St Paul, and the Apostolos Varnavas monastery near Famagusta keeps his feast on 11 June. Greek name-day calendars also give Maria a second date, 21 November, which some unmarried women use.

Why do some name days move with Easter?

Most name days are fixed, but a few depend on the date of Orthodox Easter, which changes every year. In 2027 Orthodox Easter falls on Sunday 2 May.

• St George. His feast is 23 April, but if that date falls on or before Easter (so in Lent or Holy Week), it is moved to Easter Monday. In 2027 Easter is on 2 May, so Georgios and Georgia celebrate on Monday 3 May 2027, which is also the Easter Monday public holiday. Expect a double celebration.
• Anastasios and Anastasia. Anastasios is usually celebrated on Easter Sunday (Anastasi means resurrection), although Greek calendars also list 22 January, and Anastasia has fixed dates on 22 December and 29 October.
• The Sunday of All Saints. This falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, eight weeks after Easter. In 2027 it is Sunday 27 June.

For the wider Easter calendar, including Green Monday and Holy Week, see our guide to Easter in Cyprus.

What if a name has no saint?

Not every Cypriot has a saint's name. Some carry ancient Greek names such as Aphrodite, and some families choose not to celebrate. The usual answer is the Sunday of All Saints, the day the Church honours every saint together, including those without their own date. In 2027 that is 27 June. The same applies to expat children with English, Russian or other names: if a friend asks when your child's name day is, you can say they don't have one, or pick the Greek equivalent of their name if there is one.

Where can you check a name day?

The simplest way is a Greek Orthodox name-day calendar such as eortologio.gr, which lists names alphabetically with their dates and variants (it has pages for each letter). For churches and monasteries in Cyprus and their feast days, the Church of Cyprus publishes information on its website.

If you want to take something sweet to a name-day visit or to the office, any local patisserie or bakery will have trays of pastries and boxes of biscuits; see our guide to traditional Cypriot desserts for ideas on what to choose.

What to do next

1. Add the dates for 15 December, 25 and 27 December, 1, 6, 7, 17 and 18 January to your calendar for the people you know.
2. Learn to say "Chronia polla" (HRO-nya po-LA), and use it generously.
3. If a Cypriot friend invites you on their name day, go, and take a small box of sweets or flowers.
4. Read up on the season ahead: vasilopita and New Year traditions, Epiphany (Fota) and the Cyprus festivals calendar month by month.