What is that a C(h)ristian

Since it seems that the title of my blog raised a few eyebrows I feel obliged for a short explanation. It is actually no rocket science. I was asked if it makes any reference to some Christian roots. Well, you see, I guess I got the name based on some Christian, Eastern Orthodox cultural references. Just like that. So, with no pretenses of being religious myself I still carry with me a name with quite strong religious connotations.

But you see, here kicks in the Romanian specificity. Regardless of how my parents may have wished to spell my name(s), the Romanian bureaucracy of that time, decided that registering a name spelled with “Ch” would sound a bit too “Western”, and who knows even allusively subversive. So off it was with the troublesome “h”, deemed to be foreign.

But those times are long gone, and Communism is something that nowadays some talk about with nostalgia, while some others with a sharpened tone. Still having to carry the Cristian name with me, I soon discovered that it was rather difficult to make people remember that my name was WITHOUT an “h”. For reasons of convenience, noticing that people can at least pronounce correctly a rather obscure Cristian than a Romanian bred Ovidiu, I decided to just let it be.

So nowadays I am indeed C(h)ristian. And frankly speaking I do not mind that, as long as it does not turn into something else, like Kristian/Kristjan/Kristián or even more oddly Chistian. I learnt not to mind the little “h” in there, I even started using it randomly.

At the end of the day, what is it really in a letter?

Sunday, February 24th, 2008 Research

1 Comment to What is that a C(h)ristian

Matts
March 9, 2008

Lovely, Cristian!