Saturnalia was an ancient Roman winter celebration. It began as a farmers' festival to mark the end of autumn planting, in honor of Saturn, who was the god of agriculture.
The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome on December 17, 497 BC when the city's Temple of Saturn was dedicated.
Starting as a one-day feast, the Saturnalia festivities expanded to three days, then a whole week, from December 17 to 23.
The holiday was celebrated with a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere.
Each household would elect a King of Chaos or King of Misrule to preside over the festivities.
It was customary during the Saturnalia festivities for everything to be turned upside-down. For instance, slaves and masters would exchange roles, with the slaves relaxing as their masters did the cooking for them.
The Roman pantomime was popular during the Roman Saturnalia festivities. Pantomime dames (men comically dressed up as women) and principal boys (young women dressed up as boys) are the modern day equivalent.
The standard greeting during this period was "Io Saturnalia!" Some believe that Santa Claus' 'Ho, ho, ho' has its origins in this cry of "Io".
Before it was used as Christmas decoration, holly was used for the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
The celebration of Christmas on December 25, just after Saturnalia, began in 350 after Pope Julius I designated the day to celebrate Christ's birth. He did so mainly as a political move to counteract the effect of Saturnalia.
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| Bas-relief depicting the god Saturnus with a scythe. By Français : inconnu |
Starting as a one-day feast, the Saturnalia festivities expanded to three days, then a whole week, from December 17 to 23.
The holiday was celebrated with a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere.
Each household would elect a King of Chaos or King of Misrule to preside over the festivities.
It was customary during the Saturnalia festivities for everything to be turned upside-down. For instance, slaves and masters would exchange roles, with the slaves relaxing as their masters did the cooking for them.
The Roman pantomime was popular during the Roman Saturnalia festivities. Pantomime dames (men comically dressed up as women) and principal boys (young women dressed up as boys) are the modern day equivalent.
The standard greeting during this period was "Io Saturnalia!" Some believe that Santa Claus' 'Ho, ho, ho' has its origins in this cry of "Io".
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| Saturnalia by Ernesto Biondi (1909). Usuario:Roberto Fiadone |
Before it was used as Christmas decoration, holly was used for the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
The celebration of Christmas on December 25, just after Saturnalia, began in 350 after Pope Julius I designated the day to celebrate Christ's birth. He did so mainly as a political move to counteract the effect of Saturnalia.
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