Saturnalia Festival

Month : December
Place : Rome
Famous For : Traditional Festival
Attractions : School holiday, Making and Giving of Small Presents, Special Market, Gambling

Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival which is held in honor of the god Saturn. The festival became one of the most popular Roman festivals in ancient times. It was marked by tomfoolery and reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places, much like the Lord of Misrule in later Christian celebrations. The main attractions of this festival celebrations include a school holiday, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia) and a special market (sigillaria). Another notifying feature was gambling, which was allowed for all including slaves.

Major Attractions

Saturnalia was introduced around 217 BCE to raise citizen morale after a crushing military defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians. The festival was originally celebrated for one day on December 17 but its popularity saw it grow until it became a week-long extravaganza, ending on the 23rd. Efforts to shorten the celebration were unsuccessful. Augustus tried to reduce it to three days, and Caligula to five. These attempts caused uproar and massive revolts among the Roman citizens. Saturnalia involved the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately.