Dedicated to the god Saturn, Saturnalia was one of a series of Roman festivals celebrated at midwinter. The festivities lasted for a week, normal life being suspended in favour of eating, drinking and giving gifts. Of uncertain origins, Saturnalia continued to be celebrated beyond the Christian era, finally bequeathing many of its elements to the Christmas celebrations of today.
Saturn's Winter Festival
Saturnalia was an Italic-Hellenic hybrid, celebrating the bounty of the harvest and the good things in life, whilst propitiating the dark and threatening forces of winter
According to legend, the Saturnalia was ancient and predated the foundation of Rome. The festival was instigated by Janus in gratitude for Saturn’s legendary introduction of agriculture to Italy. Many features of the festival agree this origin. The name 'Saturn' is believed to derive from the Latin for sowing, satus. Furthermore, the saturnalia was only one of several harvest festival celebrated in December: the Consualia was celebrated on the 15th and the Opalia on the 19th.
The ancient sources also reveal legends that link Saturn with the days before agriculture; a mythical golden age when food was available without the associated toil. This carefree element is echoed in Saturnalia's emphasis on carefree leisure and pleasure.
Elements of the festival support primitive Italic origins. The pottery figures of the sigillares are transmuted sacrifices to Saturn, pottery representations of the human heads once placed on the god’s altar. Likewise, the candles represent torches to light against the darkness of Saturn’s chaos. Darkness represents the time before civilisation, the time of chaos which fits with the idea of misrule. But it also epitomises winter.
However, the development of Saturnalia was closely influenced by Greek ideas. The format of the festival, with its feasts and social inversion, bear a direct resemblance to those of the Cronia, a Greek harvest festival held in honour of the god Cronos, Saturn’s Greek counterpart.
A Midwinter Roman Festival
Saturnalia began on the 17th December. Traditionally, the celebrations lasted a week. According to Macrobius, only two days properly related to the rites of Saturn. However, the celebrations were lengthened by the absorption of the festival of the Sigillaires. Augustus attempted to reduce the festival to its proper length by limiting it to three days, but by the time of Claudius, it was once again five day long. Despite these official restrictions, many people continued adhering to the ancient tradition of seven days of festivities.
The opening celebrations were marked by a public banquet at the temple of Saturn when the god’s statue was released from the ties which bound it to the temple for the rest of the year. From this point on, normal social rules were inverted. All business was suspended, criminals could not be convicted or wars started. Pleasure ruled. Each household would choose a King of the festival to preside over their own parties and celebrations. Slaves would be served by their own masters who would dress informally, even wearing the traditional slaves hat, the pilleus. The time was spent playing games, gambling, eating and drinking.
Gifts were also given. Traditionally, they were comprised of pottery figures called sigilla and wax candles, purchased at the fair that marked the closing days of saturnalia. However, as time passed, gifts became more ostentatious, so much so that legislation was required to prevent the less wealthy from beggaring themselves giving gifts they could ill afford.
Saturnalia and Christmas
Saturnalia continued to be celebrated into the Christian era. The Chronicle of 354AD, a commentary on life in Rome at that time, used a figure celebrating Saturnalia as the emblem for December.
Yet even when it had ceased to be explicitly celebrated, traces of saturnalia’s festivities still remained. At the Feast of Fools, held on the 1st January in medieval France it was common for high and low officials to exchanging places during festivities. And today, we find the traditions of gift giving, candle lighting and merry making still survive in the celebrations of Christmas.
Sources
The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion- ed. by Simon Price and Emily Kearns. (2003 Oxford University Press.)
Encyclopaedia Britannica - 2007
Natasha Sheldon - A writer since 2000, Natasha Sheldon holds a BA Hons in ancient history and archaeology and MA in ancient history and historiography.
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