3/2/2023 0 Comments Saturnalia the purgeThe Saturnalicius princeps was chosen by fate: a small coin would be hidden in a cake served at the beginning of the festivities. Called the Saturnalicius princeps (the “leader of Saturnalia” or “Lord of Misrule”), this person’s sole job was to make mischief during the week (aka, the best job ever).Ī good Saturnalicius princeps would do the following: The best part of Saturnalia is definitely the fact that many households would choose a mock king who got to lord it over the rest of the house for the week. #3: Each Household Elected A Head “Mischief Maker” For The Week Unlike other Roman holidays, which were mainly celebrated by the upper classes, Saturnalia was truly for everyone. This meant that slaves got the chance to participate in the festivities and even received gifts from their masters or sat at the head of the dinner table while their masters served them. Similarly, during Saturnalia, all social rules went out the window. Traditionally, on Boxing Day, servants received Christmas presents or a service from their masters. #2: Saturnalia Was Basically The OG Boxing DayĪnother December holiday, Boxing Day, can trace its roots to Saturnalia.įor those of you who aren’t from the UK and didn’t look it up after reading about it in Harry Potter, Boxing Day is the holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day. Just remember - it’s not our fault if your boss looks at you like you’re crazy. Try telling your boss you celebrate Saturnalia this year - maybe you’ll get a whole week off, instead of just a day or two for Christmas. People spent their time gambling, feasting, hanging out, and giving super cool gifts. Nobody worked during Saturnalia: courts and schools were closed, business dealings came to a halt. There isn’t a concrete explanation for why Saturnalia grew from one day to one week, but we’d like to think it was because people simply realized that a party that lasts a whole week is at least seven times more awesome than a party that lasts for one day. But, as more and more people started to celebrate, the holiday grew and grew until it became a weeklong festival by the time of the late Roman Republic. Initially, Saturnalia celebrations were just one day long. Those early rituals morphed into a holiday with a real name, Saturnalia, which honored Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, who, like all benevolent deities, demanded his worshippers honor him with slaughtered lambs and gifts. It started as a farming ritual, where farmers would offer gifts and sacrifices to the gods in celebration of the winter solstice and the winter planting season. Let’s take a look at five facts about the badass ancient Roman precursor to Christmas, Saturnalia. The Roman poet Catullus described Saturnalia as “the best of times” - he didn’t even have to offer a caveat, like the Christmas-obsessed Charles Dickens did in his novel Great Expectations. I don’t know about you, but this painting of Saturnalia looks infinitely more fun than my family’s Christmas party.
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