>I too had always assumed that in the west the saint's feasts were >celebrated on uniform dates from country to country. Perhaps this >is true on the ecclesial level. But when I examined the Czech and >Slovak name-day calendars, I found them celebrating a given saint >on completely different dates. How could this be if the saint's >days don't vary from country to country? I wish I had those two calendars >at my fingertips so I could cite a specific example, but unfortunately >I don't. But anyone who gets his hands on the two calendars >will readily see what I am pointing out. Saint XYZ on the Czech calendar >his his/her feast in March, and the very same Saint on the Slovak calendar >is celebrated in August or November, for example. This is what I find >puzzling. Can anyone explain it? >Gary N. Deckant >bs039@yfn.ysu.edu >Youngstown, Ohio Perhaps your words "on the ecclesial level" provide the key to this question. In the Roman Catholic Church, the central authority is responsible for all "official" saint's days. In othe rwords, there are "official saints' days" and then there are "names days" which are more traditional than official. After the Second Vatican Council, the church revised its calendar of saints days and moved many of them, especially the older, lesser-known ones -- thus shifting emphasis to the more modern saints. However the tradition of names days was too well established to be changed, many people and even churches continue to celebrate their names days on the traditional dates, even though the "official" mass of that day is for an entirely different saint. The Vatican does permit such substitutions, with certain limitations. One example is the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius, who are, by tradition, considered to have brought Christianity to the eastern Slavic countries, and are co-patrons of Slovakia. Their feast was transferred from July 7 to Feb. 14 (formerly Valentine's Day -- St./Mr. Valentine was officially "de-emphasized"). I believe the old date is still observed in Slovakia while the new date is observed almost everywhere else. Joe