Saturnalia

Summary

Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival that influenced modern Christmas traditions, including decorations and gift-giving.

Abstract

The article discusses Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival honoring the god Saturn, which began on December 17th in the Julian calendar and is considered a precursor to the modern Christmas celebration. During this week-long event, Romans engaged in feasting, gift-exchange, gambling, music, and partying, with a festive atmosphere that even extended to granting slaves a day off. The festival's influence is evident in contemporary Christmas customs, such as the adornment of homes with wreaths and the tradition of exchanging presents. The gifts during Saturnalia were modest, often including items like walnuts, plants, and cloaks, contrasting with the often more extravagant spending of today's holiday season. The author notes that while many Christians attribute the origin of Christmas to the birth of Jesus, its roots are intertwined with various pagan celebrations, including Saturnalia. The article also teases future discussions on other origins of Christmas and its traditions.

Opinions

The author suggests that the origins of Christmas are more complex and diverse than the traditional Christian narrative of Jesus's birth.
The article implies that modern Christmas traditions have pagan origins, as evidenced by the similarities between Saturnalia customs and current holiday practices.
The author seems to appreciate the historical significance of Saturnalia in shaping contemporary Christmas celebrations.
There is an acknowledgment that the commercialization of Christmas has changed the nature of gift-giving, making it more materialistic compared to the simpler, more meaningful exchanges of Saturnalia.
The author intends to explore additional historical influences on Christmas in future writings, indicating a broader interest in the evolution of holiday traditions.

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 partied.

Now you can see what two traditions that the Christians adopted: Decorating the house and gift-giving. What types of gifts were given to others during Saturnalia? Well, there were walnuts, plants, cloaks, and other things that people didn’t have to spend too much money on like we do today.

But ancient Rome wasn’t the only place where what we know as Christmas originally started. I will be explaining one more place of origin in the coming weeks.

I will also be writing about where some of the Christmas traditions we celebrate today came from.

References:

History.com Editors. (2017, December 5). Saturnalia. History.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia

Invicta. (2020, December 23). Saturnalia — Rome’s Awesome Pagan Christmas DOCUMENTARY. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1K9enEfcC4

Saturnalia

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