Hello, my name is Delila.

I love celebrating important days in our lives, make every day special while we are all waiting for that one day to come by.
Now that Christmas and New years are over we all getting ready for the day of love. 

When I lived in Hungary Valentine's day or Halloween wasn't a thing that we would all celebrate by the book, however like several other European countries we celebrate our names. It's simply called Nameday.
How does it work? How do you know when to celebrate it?
The most popular questions I have been asked when I mention anyone "nameday".
Well, it's super easy to know the date as most calendars contain a list of name days or you can easily find it on a Hungarian website(click here), and you can even check the daily newspaper out to see who celebrates their names that day.
Some highly popular names have several name days. In that case, the person chooses which day he or she wishes to celebrate.

Why would I want to celebrate my name?

Growing up in a country where nameday as much as important as a person's actual birthdate make you want to celebrate your own. Even my family is not one of those who celebrates this special day
I always wanted to have my own nameday party especially when I was a kid.
Going to a school where the parents of the nameday girl/boy brought us all that delicious treats to celebrate with their little one made so many of us jealous, including me.
Even if I could make my parents do the same for me, nobody would know about my date.
Sadly, my name is not in the Hungarian calendars, at least not the traditional one that everyone has.
Back in primary school so many kids teased me because of this and made fun of my name. (i actually never met with another Delila..tag me @delilapiply if you find me! 🙂 ) So of course like every other kid, I took it badly, I hated my name.
Later I realised it helped me to embrace my individuality and thicken my skin.

A few years later when I went to primary school, we had a class trip to a tiny village, called Vizsoly. This little village is a historical, religious place in the North of Hungary. Anyway, back to my story, so...
When we were in a Church, I saw a religious calendar, and in that calendar, there were all the biblical names. And you never will guess what happened.. I found a date on that list next to my name, the 6th of January!
I will always remember that moment, it was such a happy day in my life. After years and years searching for it, I finally had a nameday!!!!
I forgot to mention before that nameday also has a religious background...
Just before I go further let me confess, I am not religious, not at all.

If you search for my name on google, you will find the 9th of December listed next to my name.
I honestly do not know why, or if they can change namedays, but I stick with my first date as I have a really heartwarming memory connected to it.
Now, that I'm older and wiser(haha), it doesn't bother me that people don't know my date, as I live in a country that nobody has one. Just kidding, but honestly, I have had so many luck with my name. Especially since I moved.

 First of all, I'm super happy that I have a name that it's super easy to pronounce all around the world. I had so many compliments about it that made my days during the past years. Might some people only did it as they felt obligated, but honestly don't care I take it.
It also has so many advantages if you own a unique, unusual name. You only have to meet someone once for them to remember you.
I had so many people singing the "Hey There Delilah"- song Plain White T's or "Delila"-Tom Jones after I introduced myself to them.
 I don't spell my name with an H at the end, but the pronunciation is the same if you wondered.
Also, people ask about the origin of my name, how it spelt, so I always end up telling a life story about it. Easy ice breaker on interviews.

So, believe me having an uncommon name is good. Be thankful and never be a shame of it.
 I know that I wouldn't be this person without my name, it plays a part who I am.

So, yes I have a lot to celebrate on the 6th of January. 

Thankful to be called Delila.

Do you have a unique name? Tag me @delilapipoly or comment below.
 

Happy New Year Everyone!