"Saturnalia Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves. A common custom was the election of a ""King of the Saturnalia"", who would give orders to people and preside over the merrymaking. The"
"community. Slave women were otherwise forbidden participation. Slave women were honored at the ""Ancillarum Feriae"" on July 7. The holiday is explained as commemorating the service rendered to Rome by a group of ""ancillae"" (female slaves or ""handmaids"") during the war with the Fidenates in the late 4th century BC. Weakened by the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 BC, the Romans next had suffered a stinging defeat by the Fidenates, who demanded that they hand over their wives and virgin daughters as hostages to secure a peace. A handmaid named either Philotis or Tutula came up with a plan"
"Brumalia Brumalia (, , ""winter festivals"") was an ancient Roman, winter solstice festival honouring Saturn/Cronus and Ceres/Demeter, and Bacchus in some cases. By the Byzantine era, celebrations commenced on 24 November and lasted for a month, until Saturnalia and the ""Waxing of the Light"". The festival included night-time feasting, drinking, and merriment. During this time, prophetic indications were taken as prospects for the remainder of the winter. The festival was celebrated as late as the 6th century, until emperor Justinian's repression of paganism. The name of Brumalia comes from , , ""Winter solstice"", ""Winter cold""; a shortening of , ,"
"Ludi Romani The Ludi Romani (""Roman Games""; see ""ludi"") was a religious festival in ancient Rome. Usually including multiple ceremonies called ""ludi"". They were held annually starting in 366 BC from September 12 to September 14, later extended to September 5 to September 19. In the last 1st century BC, an extra day was added in honor of the deified Julius Caesar on 4 September. The festival first introduced drama to Rome based on Greek drama. These games—the chief Roman festival—were held in honour of Jupiter, and are said to have been established by Tarquinius Priscus on the occasion of"
"them. Civic officials would bring offerings of firstfruits (including wine, olive oil, grain, and honey) to the priests of Ceres. Although Brumalia was still celebrated as late as the 6th century, it was uncommon and celebrants were ostracised by the Christian church. However, some practices did persist as November and December time customs. In later times, Romans would greet each other with words of blessing at night, """", ""Live for years"". Brumalia Brumalia (, , ""winter festivals"") was an ancient Roman, winter solstice festival honouring Saturn/Cronus and Ceres/Demeter, and Bacchus in some cases. By the Byzantine era, celebrations commenced on"
"resembles the Roman tradition of giving ""sigillaria"" and the lighting of Advent candles resembles the Roman tradition of lighting torches and wax tapers. Likewise, Saturnalia and Christmas both share associations with eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. Saturnalia Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social"
"an emperor's accession. After the mid-1st century AD, a number of dates are added to calendars for spectacles and games ""(ludi)"" held in honor of various deities in the venue called a ""circus"" ""(ludi circenses)"". Festivals marked in large letters on extant ""fasti"", represented by festival names in all capital letters on the table, are thought to have been the most ancient holidays, becoming part of the calendar before 509 BC. Unless otherwise noted, the dating and observances on the following table are from H.H. Scullard, ""Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic"" (Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 189–196. October"
"have speculated that the early Catholic Church may have adapted not only the dates but the symbolism from the Nemoralia. It is possible that, as originally celebrated, the Nemoralia celebrated a descent of Diana into the underworld in search of Hippolytus or Virbius, followed by her ascent as queen of heaven and the full moon on the third day. Similar celebrations were recognized in the ancient world involving both Demeter and Isis, with whom Diana was often identified. Nemoralia The Nemoralia (also known as the Festival of Torches) is a three-day festival originally celebrated by the ancient Romans on the"
"mildness of winters in ancient Israel and rabbinic rules regarding sheep near Bethlehem before February. Alexander Murray of ""History Today"" says that the celebration of Christmas as the birth day of Jesus is based on a date of a pagan feast rather than historical analysis. Saturnalia, the Roman feast for Saturn, was associated with the winter solstice. Saturnalia was held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving,"
"Cerealia In ancient Roman religion, the Cerealia was the major festival celebrated for the grain goddess Ceres. It was held for seven days from mid- to late April, but the dates are uncertain. The festival may have been founded as early as the Regal period. Its archaic nature is indicated by a nighttime ritual described by Ovid. Blazing torches were tied to the tails of live foxes, who were released into the Circus Maximus. The origin and purpose of this ritual are unknown; it may have been intended to cleanse the growing crops and protect them from disease and vermin,"
"On the Ides, a white lamb (""ovis idulis"") was led along Rome's Sacred Way to the Capitoline Citadel and sacrificed to him. Jupiter's two ""epula Iovis"" festivals fell on the Ides, as did his temple foundation rites as ""Optimus Maximus"", ""Victor"", ""Invictus"" and (possibly) ""Stator"". The ""nundinae"" recurred every ninth day, dividing the calendar into a market cycle analogous to a week. Market days gave rural people ""(pagi)"" the opportunity to sell in town and to be informed of religious and political edicts, which were posted publicly for three days. According to tradition, these festival days were instituted by the"
"eventually known as coloni, steadily eroded. Because the tax system implemented by Diocletian assessed taxes based on both land and the inhabitants of that land, it became administratively inconvenient for peasants to leave the land where they were counted in the census. In 332 AD Emperor Constantine issued legislation that greatly restricted the rights of the coloni and tied them to the land. Some see these laws as the beginning of medieval serfdom in Europe. The religious holiday most famously celebrated by slaves at Rome was the Saturnalia, a December festival of role reversals during which time slaves enjoyed a"
"known about Roman festivals in the second half of the year, with the exception of the Saturnalia, a religious festival in honor of Saturn on December 17 that expanded with celebrations through December 23. Probably the best-known Roman festival, some of its customs, such as gift-giving and the prevalence of candles, are thought to have influenced popular celebrations of Christmas. Japanese festivals and Barua festivals often involve Buddhist culture, as do pagoda festivals held as fairs held at Buddhist temples in countries such as Thailand. Features of Buddhist Tibetan festivals may include the traditional cham dance, which is also a"
"Ludi Plebeii The Plebeian Games (Latin Ludi Plebeii) were an ancient Roman religious festival held November 4–17. The games ""(ludi)"" included both theatrical performances ""(ludi scaenici)"" and athletic competitions for the purpose of entertaining the common people of Rome. The Plebeian Games may have been celebrated among the common people without an official place on the religious calendar until plebeians rose to positions of highest prominence; Cicero, at least, thought they were Rome's oldest ""ludi"". They are known to have been held each year from 220 onward, but may have been much older. It may be most accurate to say"
"and masters waited on their slaves. Apart from the Hermaea at Pheneos, Athens, and Cydonia, various sources attest the celebration of Hermaea at Salamis Island in Attica, at Tanagra in Boeotia, at Pellene in Achaea, in Laconia, at Argos (where they took place during the month of Hermaios), on Delos, at Teos, at Pergamum, in the Thracian Chersonese, at Odessos, and at Hermaion on the Bosphorus. Hermaea (festival) The Hermaea (Greek: ) were ancient Greek festivals held annually in honour of Hermes, notably at Pheneos at the foot of Mt Cyllene in Arcadia. Usually the Hermaea honoured Hermes as patron"
"convert to Christianity, sacrifices were omitted from the ""ludi"". In the mid-4th century, games celebrating the victories of the Constantinian dynasty were held May 4–9 (the ""Ludi Maximati"") and May 13–17 ""(Ludi Persici)"". Festivals marked in large letters on extant ""fasti"", represented by festival names in all capital letters on the table, are thought to have been the most ancient holidays, becoming part of the calendar before 509 BC. The Ambarvalia, a ""moveable feast"" ""(feriae conceptivae)"" involving the lustration of the fields, seems to have been held in May, with May 29 commonly the date on which it fell. Unless"
"three aspects of Juno finds a strictly related parallel to the Lupercalia in the festival of the ""Nonae Caprotinae"". On that day the Roman free and slave women picnicked and had fun together near the site of the wild fig (""caprificus""): the custom implied runs, mock battles with fists and stones, obscene language and finally the sacrifice of a male goat to Juno ""Caprotina"" under a wildfig tree and with the using of its lymph. This festival had a legendary aetiology in a particularly delicate episode of Roman history and also recurs at (or shortly after) a particular time of"
"Nonae Caprotinae, both free and slave Roman women picnicked and celebrated together near the site of the wild fig ""(caprificus)"" to commemorate the victory. Philotis (mythology) In Roman legend, Philotis, also known as Tutula, was a slave ""(ancilla)"" whose plan resulted in an important victory of the Romans over the Latins in the late 4th century BC. Weakened by the Gallic sack of Rome in 390 BC, the Romans had suffered a stinging defeat by the Fidenates, who demanded that they hand over their wives and virgin daughters as hostages to secure a peace. Recounted in Plutarch's ""Life of Romulus"""
"Serapia The Serapia or Sarapia was a Roman Imperial religious festival devoted to the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis. It is found as an official holiday on 25 April as late as the Calendar of Filocalus in 354 AD. In farmers' almanacs ""(menologia rustica)"" dating to the first half of the 1st century, the day was a ""sacrum"" or rite for Serapis along with Isis Pharia, ""Isis of the Lighthouse ""(Pharos)"" of Alexandria"". Serapis was incorporated into the Imperial cult of Rome because of his importance as a city god of Alexandria. Under the epithets ""Dominus"" (""Master, Lord""), ""Magnus"" (""the Great"") and"
"to his claiming to have presented ""the first Cerealia. Cerealia In ancient Roman religion, the Cerealia was the major festival celebrated for the grain goddess Ceres. It was held for seven days from mid- to late April, but the dates are uncertain. The festival may have been founded as early as the Regal period. Its archaic nature is indicated by a nighttime ritual described by Ovid. Blazing torches were tied to the tails of live foxes, who were released into the Circus Maximus. The origin and purpose of this ritual are unknown; it may have been intended to cleanse the"
"attempt to undermine patrician privilege, Clodius had hired slave-gangs to forcibly take control of the festival. The attempt was a failure, and Clodius was prosecuted for this and other outrages against Rome's traditional and social proprieties. Megalesia The Megalesia, Megalensia, or Megalenses Ludi, was a festival celebrated in Ancient Rome from April 4 to April 10, in honour of Cybele, known to Romans as ""Magna Mater"" (Great Mother). The name of the festival derives from Greek ""Megale"" (μϵγάλη), meaning ""Great"". ""Ludi"" were the games or entertainments associated with religious festivals. Cybele's cult image was brought to Rome from Pessinus in"
"Pelusia In the Roman Empire, the Pelusia was a religious festival held March 20 in honor of Isis and her child Harpocrates. It would have coincided with the second day of the Quinquatria, a five-day festival to Minerva. The holiday was not a part of the Roman calendar before the mid-1st century AD, but had been added by the time of Marcus Aurelius (161–180). It is preserved in the Calendar of Filocalus (354 AD) as an official holiday. The Byzantine scholar John Lydus (6th century) explains the festival as commemorating the ""mud"" from the flooding of the Nile, which generates"
"a Roman victory by Camillus over the Latins; according to a minor tradition, a Roman serving maid or slave dressed as a noblewomen and surrendered herself to the Latins as hostage; that night, she climbed a wild fig-tree (""caprificus"", literally ""goat-fig"") and gave the Romans a torchlight signal to attack. Caprotinia The Caprotinia, or feasts of Juno Caprotina, were ancient Roman festivals which were celebrated on July 7, in favour of the female slaves. During this solemnity they ran about, beating themselves with their fists and with rods. None but women assisted in the sacrifices offered at this feast. Plutarch's"
"Anthesteria Anthesteria ( ""Anthestḗria""; also called ""the"" Anthesteria) was one of the four Athenian festivals in honor of Dionysus. It was held each year from the 11th to the 13th of the month of Anthesterion, around the time of the January or February full moon. The three days of the feast were called Pithoigia, Choës, and Chytroi. It celebrated the beginning of spring, particularly the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage, whose ""pithoi"" were now ceremoniously opened. During the feast, social order was interrupted or inverted, the slaves being allowed to participate, uniting the household in ancient"
"spectacles and games ""(ludi)"" held in honor of various deities in the venue called a ""circus"" ""(ludi circenses)"". Festivals marked in large letters on extant ""fasti"", represented by festival names in all capital letters on the table, are thought to have been the most ancient holidays, becoming part of the calendar before 509 BC. Unless otherwise noted, the dating and observances on the following table are from H.H. Scullard, ""Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic"" (Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 96–115. After the Ides, dates for the Julian calendar are given; the pre-Julian date for festivals, when April had"
"the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year. Saturnalia underwent a major reform in 217 BC, after the Battle of Lake Trasimene, when the Romans suffered one of their most crushing defeats by Carthage during the Second Punic War. Until that time, they had celebrated the holiday according to Roman custom ""(more Romano)"". It was after a consultation of the Sibylline books that they adopted ""Greek rite"", introducing sacrifices carried out in the Greek manner, the public banquet, and the continual"
"not necessarily show that Christmas was not a feast at this time. The earliest known Christmas celebration is recorded in a fourth-century manuscript compiled in Rome. This manuscript is thought to record a celebration that occurred in 336. It was prepared privately for Furius Dionysius Filocalus, a Roman aristocrat, in 354. The reference in question states, ""VIII kal. ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeæ"" translated as ""8 Kalends January Birth of Christ in Bethlehem, Judea."" This reference is in a section of the manuscript that was copied from earlier source material. The document also contains the earliest known reference to"
"cakes, pigs, goats, and lambs. In the sanctuary of Hermes Promakhos in Tanagra is a strawberry tree under which it was believed he had created, and in the hills Phene ran three sources that were sacred to him, because he believed that they had been bathed at birth. Hermes's feast was the special Hermaea which was celebrated with sacrifices to the god and with athletics and gymnastics, possibly having been established in the 6th century BC, but no documentation on the festival before the 4th century BC survives. However, Plato said that Socrates attended a Hermaea. Of all the festivals"
"the deified Romulus. Quirinus was absorbed by, and included in, the first and earliest Capitoline Triad, along with Mars—then an agriculture god—and Jupiter. The main priestess at the regia wore a white veil, characteristic of the vestal virgins. A chariot race was performed in the Circus Maximus. Horses and mules, their heads crowned with chaplets made of flowers, also took part in the celebration. H. H. Scullard, ""Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic"" (London: Thames and Hudson, 1981), 177-8, 181, 205, 207. Opiconsivia The Opiconsivia (or Opeconsiva or Opalia) was an ancient Roman religious festival held August 25 in"
"for which the adult male population assembled for purification rites, after which they ritually dispelled foreign invaders from Rome. There were two festivals called ""epulum Iovis"" (""Feast of Jove""). One was held on September 13, the anniversary of the foundation of Jupiter's Capitoline temple. The other (and probably older) festival was part of the Plebeian Games ""(Ludi Plebei)"", and was held on November 13. In the 3rd century BC, the ""epulum Iovis"" became similar to a lectisternium. The most ancient Roman games followed after one day (considered a ""dies ater"", or ""black day"", i. e. a day which was traditionally"
"a man's most noble part, the head). The Elder Tarquin is credited with introducing the Capitoline Triad to Rome, by building the so-called Capitolium Vetus. Macrobius writes this issued from his Samothracian mystery beliefs. Sacrificial victims (""hostiae"") offered to Jupiter were the ox (castrated bull), the lamb (on the Ides, the ""ovis idulis"") and the wether (on the Ides of January). The animals were required to be white. The question of the lamb's gender is unresolved; while a lamb is generally male, for the vintage-opening festival the flamen Dialis sacrificed a ewe. This rule seems to have had many exceptions,"
"""Feriale Duranum"", sacrifices pertaining to Imperial cult outnumber the older festivals, but among the military the importance of Mars was maintained and perhaps magnified. The ""dies imperii"" was the anniversary of an emperor's accession. After the mid-1st century AD, a number of dates are added to calendars for spectacles and games ""(ludi)"" held in honor of various deities in the venue called a ""circus"" ""(ludi circenses)"". Festivals marked in large letters on extant ""fasti"", represented by festival names in all capital letters on the table, are thought to have been the most ancient holidays, becoming part of the calendar before"
"a feast of shepherds, on April 21; the Robigalia on April 25, to protect crops from blight; and the Vinalia, one of the two wine festivals on the calendar, at the end of the month. Of these, the Fordicidia and Robigalia are likely to have been of greatest antiquity. William Warde Fowler, whose early 20th-century work on Roman festivals remains a standard reference, asserted that the Fordicidia was ""beyond doubt one of the oldest sacrificial rites in Roman religion."" The late Republican scholar Varro explains the name of the festival as follows: The forms ""horda"" and ""Hordicalia"" are also found."