What is a Name Day exactly?

I know many have seen or heard me post/talk about my Name Day and many do have loads of questions. The main one in particular is "What on Earth is a Name Day"?!? Well, for my family at least it is more of a cultural/religious sort of event than anything else but it is actually quite common.
 In Eastern Europe [Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, etc] many have a Slava or the Saint he or she was named after sometimes after birth or when a person is Christened [baptised]. Therefore, on that particular day one will occasionally celebrate that day by eating kolova, wine, etc which is oftentimes blessed by the Priest.
 Now, most may know that my Godfather is in fact an Eastern Orthodox Priest and this has come to be an important celebration for me. My Name Day falls on March 1 as my Ukrainian name [I also have an American name my parents decided to give me both] is Natalia Antonina well Antonina's Feast Day is March 1 so every year, my family celebrates it with dinner and traditional Ukrainian festivities.
 Some opt to celebrate their Name Day instead of their actual birthday and some choose not to celebrate their Slava while some celebrate both. For me, I like to celebrate both as it reminds me of my culture, and my faith which definitely at times keeps me in check.
  Being a performer and being in this industry so to speak I think it is so important to have a sense of balance and something to keep me grounded it can be stressful as well so many other things out there that can make life so much difficult and not just for us who are entertainers but for young people in general in this world.
 Now, I am also not cramming my beliefs down other people's throats and don't want people to think that is what I am doing because people by all means are allowed to believe however they choose; I am just expressing that for me personally this is what works and helps keep me in check.
 I also want to keep the traditions and my culture close to me as possible it reminds me who I am as a person.
 So that is what a Name Day is and for those who are curious about being Orthodox this is the brief story of St. Antonina [martyr] and from what my Godfather has expressed to me she was also known to have a great deal of patience something I hope to have and keep every single day.

The Holy Martyr Antonina suffered at Nicea during a persecution under the emperor Maximian (284-305). After fierce tortures, St Antonina was thrown into prison, but Maximian could not force the saint to renounce Christ and offer sacrifice to idols.