On Christmas Day, when the Nativity of the Lord is celebrated, over 700,000 Romanians celebrate their names, most bearing the names Cristina and Cristian.
Names of people celebrated on Christmas Day. Photo: Pixabay
What is the meaning of the name Cristian
The name Christian and its derivatives have a close connection with Christ, the central name of the Christian religion. In Greek, “Christos” comes from the verb “chriein”, which means “to anoint”, and its equivalent in Hebrew is “mashi ha”, which translates as “anointed”, a term that gave rise to the name Jesus, the Messiah . Thus, the names Cristian and Cristiana, as well as their derived forms, are directly related to the idea of ”Christian” and to the Christian cult. These surnames are attested in Latin documents from the 11th and 12th centuries and are closely associated with the celebration of the Nativity.
Over 700,000 Romanians celebrate their name at Christmas
According to the statistics provided by the Directorate for the Registration of Persons, 383,615 men and 322,869 women bear surnames associated with the Christmas holiday. Among men, most are called Cristian (329,311), followed by Cristinel (30,822), Cristi (11,729), and Christian (8,442). Among women, most bear the name Cristina (286,876), but also Cristiana (27,516), Kristina (794) and other derived forms.
Do we say “Happy Birthday” at Christmas or not?
On this holy day, Father Gabriel Cazacu, priest at the Cașin Monastery in Bucharest, emphasized that “on a day of celebration we do not exclude anyone from the celebration. We say happy birthday to everyone we love, on every occasion, but also today, including people with the name Cristi or Cristina“, according to Digi24. The priest adds: “It is an important holiday for all of us today, with a red cross in the church calendar, and it should be celebrated with love, charity and wisdom.”
On this special day, Christmas is not only a religious holiday, but also a moment of joy and solidarity, where traditions are intertwined with Christian teachings, and a simple “happy birthday” becomes a wish of well-being and hope for all those who celebrates its name day.
