Saturnalia – December 17-23, 2024

History of Saturnalia

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. 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. During the celebration period, all activities came to a halt. Businesses, courts, schools, and other social patterns were suspended while people spent time doing more fun activities. Slaves were allowed to take part in the celebration and even reversed roles with their masters. Feasting, playing, gambling, singing, exchanging gifts and home decorations were some of the activities people enjoyed doing during this time. Thus, the Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many traditions associated with Christmas.

During Saturnalia, celebrations were held not only at home but also in the temple of Saturn in Rome. In the fourth century, the temple was constructed in place of an older temple. On the first day of the Saturnalia celebrations, a young pig would be sacrificed publicly. Also, during the celebrations, the woolen bonds tied around the feet of the cult statue of Saturn were loosened to signify the god’s freedom. Numerous archaeological sites from the Roman coastal province of Constantine, now in Algeria, demonstrate that the statue of Saturn survived there until the early third century.

In wealthier Roman households, the aturnalicius princeps or “leader of Saturnalia” were selected from among the slaves. This person was known as the mock king and was responsible for organizing merrymaking and mischief during the celebrations. He was seen as the ruler of chaos, in direct contrast to the normal orderly manner of Roman life; he was also in charge of making offerings to the Roman household gods associated with domestic life (penates). Other common holiday customs such as hiding coins or other small objects in cakes date back to earlier Saturnalia practices, as it was a way used to choose the mock king in those days.

Western culture of today derived many of its traditional midwinter celebrations from Saturnalia. The Christmas holiday owes most of its practices to Saturnalia, including the time of the year at which it is celebrated. Theologians decided that Jesus was most likely born in spring and the Bible also does not give a date for the celebration of his birth. The older seasonal celebrations practiced by the Celts and other groups were suppressed by the Roman empire’s conquests in Britain and the rest of Europe beginning from the second century B.C. and ending in the fourth century A.D. During this time, the Church settled on celebrating Christmas on December 25 and incorporated it with Saturnalia and other midwinter traditions. The pagans and Christians lived together during this time, and this might have represented an effort for the pagans to receive Christianity as Rome’s official religion.