Celebrate Saturnalia 

Saturnalia is the Be a Roman Pagan festival honoring Saturnus, who introduced agriculture and the arts of civilized life. It was the season when agricultural work was completed; a sort of joyous Thanksgiving-type holiday of relaxation and merriment. During Saturnalia, businesses, courts and schools were closed.

This is a guide to celebrating a Be a Reconstructionist Pagan Saturnalia today.

Steps

  1. Wear the colors of the holiday. These are blue and gold.
  2. Decorate over doorways, windows and even stairs with greenery. Garlands or Create-a-Wreath are ideal. Add golden cutouts of the sun or golden pinecones, nuts, acorns.
  3. If you have living trees on your own property, hang them with sun symbols, stars, and faces of the God Janus (who watches over the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one). In Roman times, trees were not brought indoors but were decorated where they grew. It is also possible to decorate living plants in pots.
  4. Make-Cookie-Cutter-Cookies in the shapes of fertility symbols, suns and moons and stars, and herd animal shapes. You can Make-Cookie-Cutters if you're keen! Use green and/or gold food colors or sprinkles.
  5. If you are of legal drinking age where you live, make some Make Mulsum, a drink of wine and honey.
  6. Greet people with the traditional cry of "Io, Saturnalia!" This is pronounced "eeyo sa-tur-NAL-ee-uh".
  7. Invite your friends for a feast and a party on December 17th. Saturnalia is a joyous holiday and Romans shared it with friends and family.
  8. Give small presents, including presents of food or sweets, or candles or lamps. Attach a clever note or a short witty poem to your gifts. Read the Roman poet Martial ("Xenia" and "Apophoreta") for some authentic examples from Roman times.
  9. If you have a Make a Lararium, make sure it is clean. Safely light a candle there. Display and decorate a statue of Saturnus, if you have one, or a photo of a statue or painting of him.
  10. Celebrate freedom and destroy hierarchies. Saturnalia was a type of opposite-day in which slaves could enjoy luxury alongside their masters. You may want to wear a pileus, a conical felt cap that in the classical world represented freedom.



Tips

  • This is not a time to wear your Make an Authentic Roman Toga. A toga is formal wear and Saturnalia is a relaxed holiday. Romans wore something called a synthesis, but you can wear a Make an Authentic Roman Tunic too.

Warnings

  • If you light candles or Make-an-Oil-Lamp, use caution and common sense.

Sources and Citations

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