This festival was more specifically religious than the general merriment of Saturnalia, and it is noted that Constantine, the first Christian emperor, was brought up in the cult of the Sun, so it is possible that the date of Christmas was designed to replace this festival specifically rather than the more ambiguous dates of Saturnalia. The date of December 25th specifically likely comes from the Roman festival of dies natalis solis invicti (‘day of the birth of the unconquered sun’), a festival specifically celebrating the birth of the sun. Roman Forum: Temple of Saturn Originally celebrated on December 17, Saturnalia was extended first to three and eventually to seven days. Dedicated to the Roman god Saturn, the festival’s influence continues to be felt throughout the Western world. Regardless, there is no evidence that the widely celebrated date of Christmas was his actual date of birth. Saturnalia, the most popular of Roman festivals. Jesus’ actual date of birth is unknown, and scholars have estimated that he could have been born in June or perhaps around the spring equinox. The connection with mid-winter and the birth of Jesus Christ wasn’t made until the 2nd century CE, and the first known celebration of Christmas celebrating the birth of Christ is from 354 CE. The religious aspects of the festival honouring Saturn appear to have been gradually lost, instead becoming a popular festival designed to bring happiness in the bleak winter season. There is evidence that Saturnalia as a festival was celebrated for around a century after the conversion of Rome to Christianity. It is possible that this originated as a satiric response to the Roman emperors being known as princeps (‘ruler’ or ‘leader’) rather than rex (‘king’), as this tradition was only attested in the Imperial period of Roman history.
Another practice that is attested is the crowning of a Saturnalicius princeps (‘Ruler of the Saturnalia’) who is seen as the master of the proceedings and his commands have to be obeyed by the guests at the feast.
Originally just one day, over the centuries the festivities grew to last a whole week, starting on December 17 and coinciding with the winter solstice. Gifting verses, in a similar practice to writing Christmas cards, was also common, as documented by Martial and Catullus. Happy Saturnalia This ancient Roman holiday honors Saturn, the god of seed-sowing, and celebrates the promise of a spring harvest. There was the custom of giving gifts, particularly pottery or wax figures known as sigillaria, as well as other items such as tablets, dice, toys, candles and many more. Gambling was also permitted and even encouraged for slaves and masters alike as the feasting and merriment got underway.
Some of the key components to celebrating Saturnalia were the reversal of roles: dress codes were relaxed as Romans donned colourful dinner wear instead of a toga and slaves and masters ate together perhaps the masters even served food to the slaves as Saturnalia practices varied over time.
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