Saturnalia
The Christmas of Ancient Rome.
The Christmas that we celebrate today first started in ancient Rome. I know that most Christians would disagree with me and say that Christmas began when Jesus was born. But that is not true. Many different pagan celebrations were happening around the Winter Solstice (December 21–22). The festival of Saturnalia is one of them. Remember that there is no one place where our current celebration comes from. There are many. I am just going to write about one for now.
This festival honored the god Saturn. Saturn is the deity of agriculture. Otherwise, this is a holiday devoted to farming in Midwinter. The festival starts on December 17th in the Julian calendar (On ours, it would be December 25th). It was a seven-day festival held at the temple of Saturn is where this celebration took place.
Even in ancient times, businesses and schools were closed during this holiday. Even slaves had the day off. People decorated their houses with wreaths and other plants.
What did people do during Saturnalia? Well, they had a feast, exchanged gifts, gambled, played music, and…
