I’m not a great fan of Roman history or myth. I’m a bit contrary by nature, and the fact that Western society is so enamored of Greek and Roman myth and culture is just a little… itchy to me. Yucky. Not good.
But my contrary nature may just be why I want Saturnalia to be our next cult (wakka) hit holiday.
Okay, so technically, it was yesterday. But I didn’t have my shit together. And anyway, by the late republic, Saturnalia had stretched through to December 23rd anyway. So let the revelry continue!
First up, a playlist that I intentionally didn’t think a lot about. A little party, a little celebration of Saturn, a lot of mess. Seems appropriate. (Content/artist warning in effect, since I didn’t dig too deep.)
As the name so deftly suggests, this festival was meant to honor Saturn, the Titan god of plenty, wealth, agriculture, renewal, liberation, dissolution and whatever the hell else (as the gods tended to be). Saturn was a pretty complex deity, but all signs point to him generally being a fairly serious dude. The holiday centers around a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn.
Saturnalia’s early celebrations were meant to reflect the Golden Age of the gods, when humans lived without labor in a state of innocence. To honor that spirit, slaves were allowed to sit with their masters and celebrate. It became a tradition that masters would serve their slaves’ food and drink during the banquets. Public gambling was largely frowned upon in Roman culture, but everyone threw dice or coin during Saturnalia.
The day was established as a holiday from all work. December 18th and 19th were also holidays from public work, and families celebrated in private at home, bathing early then sacrificing a suckling pig. Party.
Of course, Saturn had a dark side. He received dead gladiators as a form of sacrifice. In the days surrounding Saturnalia, gladiatorial events were even sponsored by Saturn’s treasury so he could be appeased (and everyone would have something to watch while they drank). Eventually, effigies or masks of human heads were offered as tribute. Wearing the masks may have been a way of honoring this tradition or just a way of showing how roles have been reversed for the festival. Candles could also serve as a sacrifice, showing the light of life… which, I assume, you got to snuff out.
Familiar with the Lord of Misrule? He may have had his origins in Saturnalia. Lots were cast to choose the Ruler of Saturnalia. He could order people to all sorts of mischief. (He was probably conceived as political commentary but carried on because it was exactly the sort of fun Saturnalia embraced.)
On December 19th, gifts were exchanged. Many exchanged inexpensive, simple gifts (or even gag gifts) because anything expensive ran a bit contrary to the festival’s meaning; the gift’s value was seen as an inverse of your care and affection, so cheap gifts meant big love. But pricy gifts were nonetheless exchanged, because rich people gonna rich. Some of the gifts included dice for gambling, masks for guising or jacks to play with.
When the date was chosen for Christmas, it conveniently allowed Romans to carry on the seasonal revelry, albeit under a different name. It seems many of the traditions seeped into the celebration of Christmas, particularly the general spirit of merriment.