Pagan Religions ~ Religio Romana

Saturnalia

Saturnalia was the most popular holiday in the old Roman Empire and is so today among those that keep Roman traditions. It is celebrated on the Winter Solstice and honours the god Saturn, the Sun god, and his wife, Ops, who is are two of the oldest Roman gods and the parents of The Great God Jupiter, the patron god of Rome. This Holy Day also celebrates Saturn in his aspect as god of seed and planting, and it was the day of the dedication of the Roman Temple of Saturn, the oldest temple in Rome. The Roman official date to celebrate was on the Winter Solstice, which use to be December 25th in the old Julian calendar. Today, the most accepted day to celebrate the beginning of Saturnalia is on December 17th, but you can check the exact date of this Winter Solatice and use that date, if you wish.

By the time of Caesar and the late Republic, Saturnalia was decreed as a Holy Day, or holiday, to be celebrated for seven days (which today would be from December 17th to the 23rd). Emperor Augustus Caesar tried to limit the festival to three days for commerce and the law courts, which must close-down during the holiday. However, this was so unpopular among the public that Caligula, as a compromise, extended the holiday to five days. Today it is kept for seven days.

On Saturnalia religious rites were performed in the Temple. The god Saturn is identified with Kronos, a Greek god, so the sacrifice was according to Greek ritual, with the head uncovered. After the ritual sacrifice, a public banquet was held so there could be a lectisternium, a "banquet for the god" in which its image of the god is placed in attendance. Afterword, was a time of pleasure and celebration, a time to visit friends and family, and of the giving of small gifts, especially wax candles (a luxury in ancient Rome).

In the home on the holiday, restrictions were relaxed and the social order was topsy-turvy. Slaves were treated as equals. They could wear their masters' clothing and were often waited on by their owners as a remembrance of the god's golden age. Less formal dinner clothes were worn. Within the family, a Lord of Misrule was selected. A tree would be decorated and special holiday songs sung. No business was allowed.

Today
Saturnalia is a time of rest, feasting, and enjoyment. You can get a tree on the 17th and decorate it. Small gifts are exchanged, little symbolic ones such as chocolate coins. Make a point of doing things a little differently, such as driving a different way to work for the week. Treat each night as something special with especially good food, special treats, wear your best cloths, do things you enjoy.

Make this time something special.

Pagan Religions