Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan
festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Saturnalia celebrations are the
source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas.
WHAT IS SATURNALIA?
Saturnalia, the most popular holiday on the ancient Roman calendar, derived from older
farming-related rituals of midwinter and the winter solstice,
especially the practice of offering gifts or sacrifices to the gods during the
winter sowing season.
HOW THE ROMANS CELEBRATED SATURNALIA
During Saturnalia, work and business came to a halt. Schools
and courts of law closed, and the normal social patterns were suspended.
People decorated their homes with wreaths and other
greenery, and shed their traditional togas in favor of colorful clothes known
as synthesis. Even slaves did not have to work during Saturnalia, but
were allowed to participate in the festivities; in some cases, they sat at the
head of the table while their masters served them.
Instead of working, Romans spent Saturnalia gambling,
singing, playing music, feasting, socializing and giving each other gifts. Wax
taper candles called cerei were common gifts during Saturnalia, to signify light
returning after the solstice.
On the last day of Saturnalia celebrations, known as
the Sigillaria, many Romans gave their friends and loved ones small
terracotta figurines known as signillaria,
which may have referred back to older celebrations involving human sacrifice.
Saturnalia was by far the jolliest Roman holiday; the Roman
poet Catullus famously described it as “the best of times.” So riotous were the
festivities that the Roman author Pliny reportedly built a soundproof room so
that he could work during the raucous celebrations.
TEMPLE OF SATURN AND OTHER
SATURNALIA CUSTOMS
Constructed in the fourth century A.D. to replace an earlier
temple, the Temple of Saturn in Rome served as the ceremonial center of later
Saturnalia celebrations. On the first day of the festivities, a young pig would
often be publicly sacrificed at the temple, which was located in the northwest
corner of the Roman Forum.
The cult statue of Saturn in the temple traditionally had
woolen bonds tied around his feet, but during Saturnalia these bonds were
loosened to symbolize the god’s liberation.
In many Roman households, a mock king was chosen: the Saturnalicius princeps, or “leader of Saturnalia,” sometimes also called the “Lord
of Misrule.” Usually a lowlier member of the household, this figure was
responsible for making mischief during the celebrations—insulting guests,
wearing crazy clothing, chasing women and girls, etc.
The idea was that he ruled over chaos, rather than the
normal Roman order. The common holiday custom of hiding coins or other small
objects in cakes is one of many dating back to Saturnalia, as this was a method
of choosing the mock king.
IS CHRISTMAS A PAGAN HOLIDAY?
Thanks to the Roman Empire’s conquests in Britain and the
rest of Europe from the second century B.C. to the fourth century A.D.—and
their suppression of older seasonal rites practiced by the Celts and
other groups—today’s Western cultures derive many of their traditional
celebrations of midwinter from Saturnalia.
The Christian holiday of Christmas,
especially, owes many of its traditions to the ancient Roman festival,
including the time of year Christmas is celebrated. The Bible does
not give a date for Jesus’ birth; in fact, some theologians have concluded he
was probably born in spring, as suggested by references to shepherds and sheep
in the Nativity story.
But by the fourth century A.D., Western Christian churches
settled on celebrating Christmas on December 25, which allowed them to
incorporate the holiday with Saturnalia and other popular pagan midwinter
traditions.
Pagans and Christians co-existed (not always happily) during
this period, and this likely represented an effort to convince the remaining
pagan Romans to accept Christianity as Rome’s official religion.
Before the end of the fourth century, many of the traditions
of Saturnalia—including giving gifts, singing, lighting candles, feasting and
merrymaking—had become absorbed by the traditions of Christmas as many of us
know them today.
Sources
John Matthews, The Winter Solstice: The Sacred
Traditions of Christmas(Godsfield Press, 1998).
Saturnalia, Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Did the Romans invent Christmas? BBC News.
SOURCE OF INFO: https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia
Saturnalia, Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Did the Romans invent Christmas? BBC News.
SOURCE OF INFO: https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia