Fêtenat

A friend of mine is seeing a girl named Ascension.

I was like, “Ascension ? Isn’t it the name of a Christian holiday in May ?” (耶稣升天节)
My colleague Samia also found it rare as a name, but then she told me, each day in the Christian calendar carries the name of a Saint (For example, today is April 17th, it’s the day of Saint Anicet, ok you’re not familiar with this name, me neither. Well, this Sunday will be the day of Emma, see what I mean ?). So many people, especially religious people, would name their child after the name of the Saint du jour. Sadly, for some kids, their name isn’t as Christian as their parents thought. See, the national holiday in French is Fête Nationale, and it’s marked as “Fête Nat” on the Calendar, yes, that’s how some parents in other French speaking countries name their kid if he/she is born on July 14th, Fêtenat. Original huh ? Beats “Ascension” anyway.

Come to think of it, these people won’t feel pretty special any more if they realize the number of guys who are named 国庆 in China.