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Archive for norwegian name days

Happy Ingvald Day

By Linda Tancs

A unique aspect of Scandinavian culture is the celebration of Name Days.  Originally derived from the names of saints and martyrs from the Middle Ages, the custom today is to assign two contemporary names to each day of the year except 1 January, 29 February and 25 December.  Some names are assigned to dates connected to historical figures with the name.   For example, Snorre is assigned to 23 September, the birth date of Icelandic saga scholar Snorre Sturlasson, and 22 June is assigned to Håkon and Maud, the date of the coronation of King Håkon VII and Queen Maud in 1906.  Today Ingvald and Ingveig take top honors.