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On the first day of the Saturnalia celebrations, a young pig would be sacrificed publicly. In the fourth century, the temple was constructed in place of an older temple. Thus, the Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many traditions associated with Christmas.ĭuring Saturnalia, celebrations were held not only at home but also in the temple of Saturn in Rome. Feasting, playing, gambling, singing, exchanging gifts and home decorations were some of the activities people enjoyed doing during this time. Slaves were allowed to take part in the celebration and even reversed roles with their masters. Businesses, courts, schools, and other social patterns were suspended while people spent time doing more fun activities. During the celebration period, all activities came to a halt. The festival began on December 17 of the Julian calendar, which the Romans used in those days, and initially ended on December 25, the time at which the winter solstice fell. The pagan celebration of the Roman god, Saturn, first began as a single day, but later extended to a whole week during the late Republic. “Io saturnalia” is the salutation during this season, so whenever you hear this greeting, know that there is excitement in the air and it is in honor of the god Saturn. Feasting, gifting, singing, dancing, games, gambling, decorations, and role-reversals were the usual activities, so on this day, businesses, schools, courts, and other forms of work would stop so that everyone could join in the fun it was the best of days. During this time, normal social patterns came to a halt. It was the liveliest festival of the year with sounds of merriment and preparation everywhere it would be very difficult not to take notice of the Saturnalia celebrations even if you were new to the environment, as the people took it very, very seriously. It was the most popular holiday on the ancient Roman calendar and was derived from older farming-related rituals of midwinter and the winter solstice. Changes to the Roman calendar moved the climax of Saturnalia to December 25th, around the time of the date of the winter solstice.Saturnalia, celebrated from December 17 to 23, is an ancient Roman festival and holiday held to celebrate the agricultural god Saturn. By the time Lucian described the festivities, it was a seven-day event. During the reign of the Emperor Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), it was a two-day affair starting on December 17th. "Saturnalia grew in duration and moved to progressively later dates under the Roman period. Numerous archaeological sites from the Roman coastal province of Constantine, now in Algeria, demonstrate that the cult of Saturn survived there until the early third century AD. "Saturnalia originated as a farmer's festival to mark the end of the autumn planting season in honour of Saturn ( satus means sowing). an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water - such are the functions over which I preside.'
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Drinking and being drunk, noise and games of dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping. 'During my week the serious is barred: no business allowed. The poet Lucian of Samosata (AD 120-180) has the god Cronos (Saturn) say in his poem, Saturnalia: Family households threw dice to determine who would become the temporary Saturnalian monarch. The wealthy were expected to pay the month's rent for those who couldn't afford it, masters and slaves to swap clothes. "Saturnalia saw the inversion of social roles. Saturnalia by Ernesto Biondi 1909 at the Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens "The first-century AD poet Gaius Valerius Catullus described Saturnalia as 'the best of times': dress codes were relaxed, small gifts such as dolls, candles and caged birds were exchanged. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival. A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees.
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"It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. Another such famous celebration was Saturnalia in ancient Rome, which was ultimately subsumed by Christmas:
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Such famous archeological sites as Stonehenge and Newgrange were aligned to the winter solstice, and there are many holidays that originated from or gravitated to this solstice day, including We Tripantu in Chile, the Zoroastrian Maidyarem in Iran, Dongzhi in Asia, Hanukkah in Judaism, Yule in ancient northern Europe, and Christmas in fourth century Rome. Today's encore selection - from Did the Romans Invent Christmas? The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year that grew to significance throughout the world because of the uncertainty of living through the bleak winter, the desire to have days lengthen again, and the need for brightness against the encroaching gloom.