In the name of Veronica, people have called their daughters since ancient times. Veronica, Ferenika, Berenice, Berenice, Virinei - all these are variations of the same female name, which sounds differently in the mouths of numerous peoples of the world.
But even with the same spelling, this name can have a different pronunciation: among the Slavs it sounds like Veronica, and among Western peoples like Veronica (with emphasis on the second syllable).
From the history of the name
The custom of giving a newborn a name in honor of a saint arose in Russia immediately after the adoption of Orthodoxy. It was believed that the canonized saint, in whose honor the child is named, will patronize him and protect him from adversity, will become a kind of guardian angel of the namesake man.
The name of the canonized saint was given to the child at baptism and was chosen according to the month, or to the clergy - the list of saints, compiled in calendar order. Sometimes, according to the holy calendar, up to a dozen names of saints whose memory should be read on that day fall on the same date. And the child’s parents are confronted with a choice in honor of whom to name their child (by the way, Veronika’s nameday for the saints also coincides with the day of the angel Mary, Marina and Margarita).
After the 1917 revolution, the tradition of giving a child a name on the church calendar, as well as faith in God, was forgotten. They began to call the children of the Soviet era Vilen (in honor of V.I. Lenin) and the Interns (in memory of the conference of the First International), as well as Angela and Ernest (in solidarity with the leaders of anti-capitalism).
The current generation of young parents, for the most part, calls children a little more mean, and if they choose a name according to the holy calendar, it is more often a tribute to fashion than faith in a heavenly patron.
Veronica and Veronica: interesting features of names
In the holy calendar more than one and a half thousand names are mentioned, and most of them are male. To compensate for this injustice, the people came into use the so-called double names - Alexander and Alexandra, Valentin and Valentina, Eugene and Eugene, etc. That is, the female name was derived from the male one.
In the case of the name Veronica, everything happens exactly the opposite. From the female Veronica came the male name - Veronik (victorious). However, the male version remained almost unclaimed and is extremely rare.
When to celebrate Veronica's birthday
St. Veronica is revered by both Catholics and Orthodox. There is a legend according to which this woman showed compassion for Jesus Christ coming to the place of execution, giving him his head scarf, so that the Savior could wipe the bleeding wounds and sweat. Subsequently, the face of Christ appeared on the board, and in memory of this event, pilgrims repeating the Savior's ascent to Calvary make a stop at the supposed site of a significant event.
Despite the general interpretation of the events, Veronica’s name days according to the Orthodox calendar and the Church Catholic calendar fall on different dates. Catholics honor St. Veronica on July 12. They, as a sign of the miraculous manifestation on the headscarf of the face of Christ, endowed Saint Veronica with the property of patronizing photographers and photographs.
Orthodox celebrate name day Veronica on the following dates:
- July 25 - Veronica the Righteous;
- July 30 - Veronica the Martyr;
- October 17 - Veronica (Virinea) of Edessa.
It turns out that Veronica can celebrate her birthday on the church calendar more than once. But it will be wrong. A person should have only one holy patron and one day of an angel.
Determining the date of your name day is quite simple. Look at the holy calendar and find the next day when the memory of the saint whose name is destined for you is honored.
So it turns out that Veronica’s birthday, like other people, should be celebrated not three times, but once - on the day closest to the birthday of her patron.
The most famous world Veronica
In addition to world-famous Christian and Catholic saints, the name Veronica became known to people thanks to:
- Veronica Castro - actress of Mexican cinema;
- Louise Veronica Ciccone, an American pop singer who prefers to be called Madonna;
- Veronika Izotova - actress of Soviet and Russian cinema;
- Veronika Kruglova - singer of 60-70 years;
- Veronika Dudarova, a female conductor who led huge orchestras;
- Veronika Mavrikievna - the ingenious incarnation of an intelligent old woman by actor Vadim Tonkov.