Saturnalia
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
What many people fail to realize these days is that Christmas, while one of the favorite Christian holidays of the year, is in reality much more Pagan in origin. In ancient Rome, there was a yearly festival known as Saturnalia, which took place from December 17-23. When the transition from Roman religion to Christianity was taking place, much was done to persuade Romans to join Christianity. Therefore, Christmas was created to rival Saturnalia. It does not actually represent the birthday of Christ, which is unknown, except for the fact that it could not have happened that late in the year. The Roman festival of Saturnalia was similar to Christmas in some ways, but also different. Saturnalia honored Saturn, god of seed and sowing. It also celebrated the winter solstice, and ensured a good harvest. There were animal sacrifices, and banquets, and much celebration. Slaves were allowed to be masters for a day, public gambling was permitted, and gifts were given. This was an overall fun holiday, very enjoyable for Romans. It was the most popular holiday, and everyone looked forward to it. Eventually, however, it was absorbed into Christmas, and diappeared from the world.
