4 December - secret ceremonies in honor of Bona Dea

5 December - Faunalia celebrated in honor of Faunus

11 December

One of the four Agonalia, this day in honour of Sol Indiges; also the Septimontium festival

In Ancient Roman religious tradition, Agonalia, or Agonia, was a festival celebrated several times a year, in honor of various divinities, such as Janus and Agonius, whom the Romans used to invoke upon their undertaking any business of importance. The word is derived either from Agonia, " a victim," or from Agonium, "a festival."

Its institution, like that of other religious rites and ceremonies, was attributed to Numa Pompilius. We learn from the ancient calendars that it was celebrated on the three following days: January 9, May 21, and December 11; to which we should probably add March 17, the day on which the Liberalia was celebrated, since this festival is also called Agonia or Agonium Martiale.

Sol Indiges ("the native sun" or "the invoked sun" - the etymology and meaning of the word "indiges" is disputed) represents the earlier, more agrarian form in which the roman god Sol was worshipped. It was later replaced by Sol Invictus.

The Septimontium was a Roman festival of the seven hills of Rome. It was celebrated in September (or, according to late calendars, on 11 December). They sacrificed seven animals at seven times in seven different places within the walls of the city near the seven hills. On that day the emperors were very liberal to the people. During the Septimontium in the Republican period, Romans refrained from operating horse-drawn carriages.

13 December - Tellus was worshipped in the district Carinae at the Esquiline Hill, and a lectisternium or table was spread for Ceres

15 December - Consualia in honor of Consus is held

17 December - Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, began

Saturnalia is the feast with which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which was on 17 December. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, to 23 December.

Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals. It was marked by tomfoolery and reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places.

The Saturnalia was a large and important public festival in Rome. The Saturnalia was originally celebrated in Ancient Rome for only a day, but it was so popular that soon it lasted a week, despite Augustus' efforts to reduce it to three days, and Caligula's, to five. It involved the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately. The celebrations included a school holiday, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia) and a special market (sigillaria). Gambling was allowed for all, even slaves; however, although it was officially condoned only during this period, one should not assume that it was rare or much remarked upon during the rest of the year. It was a time to eat, drink, and be merry. The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colorful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with (a pretense of) disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. Yet the reversal of the social order was mostly superficial; the banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slaves, and they would prepare their masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it.

The customary greeting for the occasion is a "io, Saturnalia!" — io (pronounced "yo") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn").

18 December - Feast of Epona (during Saturnalia)

In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, and the presence of foals in some sculptures (Reinach, 1895). And H. Hubert suggested that the goddess and her horses were leaders of the soul in the after-life ride, with parallels in Rhiannon of the Mabinogion. Unusually for a Celtic deity, most of whom were associated with specific localities, the worship of Epona, "the sole Celtic divinity ultimately worshiped in Rome itself", was widespread in the Roman Empire between the first and third centuries CE.

19 December - Opalia

Opiconsivia was another name of Opis. And this name also was given to December 19, on which day the Opalia were celebrated, in her honor (some mention also August 10 and December 9). The Latin word consivia (or consiva) derives from conserere ("to sow"). Hence, the word Opiconsivia may be interpreted as meaning "the sowing of crops", since Ops ultimately means "crops" in the sense of "riches, goods". This word is also related to Consus, the male consort of Opis as "the seeder", who protected the harvested grain.


21 December - Divalia in honour of Angerona

The Divalia was a Roman festival held on December 21st, in honour of the goddess Angerona, whence it is also called Angeronalia. On the day of this festival the pontifices performed sacrifices in the temple of Voluptia, or the goddess of joy and pleasure, who, some say, was the same with Angerona, and supposed to drive away all the sorrow and chagrin of life.


23 December - Larentalia, a festival in honour of Larenta

The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on December 23, but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic genii, or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the guardians and protectors of families, supposed to reside in chimney-corners. Others have attributed this feast in honour of Acca Larentia, the nurse of Romulus and Remus, and wife of Faustulus.
In Roman mythology, Dea Tacita ("the silent goddess") was a goddess of the dead. In later times, she was equated with the earth goddess Larunda. In this guise, Dea Tacita was worshipped at a festival called Larentalia on December 23. Goddesses Mutae Tacitae were invoked to destroy a hated person: in this inscription (epigr. 1958, 38, 150) someone asks "ut mutus sit Quartus" and "erret fugiens ut mus". These silent goddesses are the personification of terror of obscurity.

25 December - (Re) birth of Sol Invictus. The winter solstice feast in the Roman Empire from 274 to 391

Редактирано от ~quo vadis на 05.07.08 13:25.