Celebrating My Name Day

Tomorrow is my name day. If you’re from Europe or Latin America at this point, you’re ready to buss me on both cheeks and heartily wish me a “Happy Name Day.” If you’re from here, you’re probably just thinking “Heh?”

In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions, “name days” are the feast days of the saints for whom you were named. Since almost every one in Catholic Europe is named for a saint (or more likely for a relative who was named for a saint), everyone has a “name day” which is celebrated with as much verve and gusto as birthdays are here. Birthdays in Europe are considered private affairs celebrated only by family and those with a “need to know.” Name days on the other hand are more public events since everyone knows your name.

If you are a Catherine/Cathy /Kate/Karen or some variation thereof, you can just about pick your name day given the numerous St. Catherines and their associated feast days on the liturgical calendar. I traditionally observe the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria . Or did until she ran afoul of the Pope in 1969 or thereabouts. It seems the Church could not verify that she and a whole slew of other saints ever existed. So they were expunged from the calendar during a era of papal reform. And I had to start observing my name day in April on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena. It just never felt right to me. Recently, I noticed that St. Catherine of A. is still the most popular St. Catherine in Google (if not the Vatican) so I’ve reclaimed her feast day as my own. What are they gonna do? Excommunicate me?

St. Catherine of Alexandria was one of the glamorous virgin martyr saints -- reputedly as hot as she was pious and virtuous. Her beauty attracted the eye of the lecherous Roman emperor Maximinus who went along with her efforts to convert him to Christianity until he realized she wasn’t going to give him any. He ordered her tortured and executed in retaliation. If you were a woman, that was the usual path to sainthood – that or become a hermit nun who had visions. Today they would call those women bi-polar.

Catherine’s instrument of torture, a spiked wheel, mysteriously broke whenever her tormentors tried to bind her to it. Emperor Max was not impressed by this divine intervention and had her beheaded. So Catherine got to be a saint with fireworks named after her rather than tart who set off fireworks in the bedroom. She later became one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers” the go-to saints who helped in times of adversity and difficulties. Sort of like a Catholic League of Justice. St. Catherine's specialty was intervening against sudden death. The “holy 14” were also victims of papal reform.

So how does one celebrate one’s name day? With flowers. I always got a nosegay of camellias, the South’s ubiquitous fall/winter flower. My mother also made my favorite custard-filled crème puffs – something I now know are called Princes Krafne in Croatia. And I got to eat tacos on the good china (an honor also extended on my birthday). That’s it. No presents or parties or anything like that. Just a simple little day of observance to make me feel just a touch more special than usual.

And it always did.

Cream Puffs or Princes Krafne

Pastry

1 cup milk

1/2 t salt

2/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cup plus 1 T flour (all purpose)

4 eggs

Put butter and milk in small saucepan; stir over high heat until melted. Add flour all at once and beat vigorously for two minutes. Add eggs one at a time and blend until smooth. Beat fast until smooth and fluffy.Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheet.Place in preheated oven and bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes. Do not open oven door while puffs are baking.Let cool. Cut off tops. Fill with custard filling. Replace tops. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Custard

4 egg yolks

4 T sugar

4 T flour

1 t vanilla

1 pint milk

4 egg whites.

Mix egg yolks, sugar, flour and a few tablespoons of cold milk. Boil remaining milk. Add egg mixture to milk and continue to cook until thick, stirring frequently. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into the custard. Refrigerate until thick.