![]() ![]() Every Sunday we celebrate the resurrection. ![]() Is that evil? No! On Pentecost we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. Then three days later, we celebrate His resurrection. We celebrate three days and three nights before Resurrection day, His death. (See Romans 14) We should celebrate Jesus. We are not commanded to celebrate any day in Christianity. We need to celebrate the incarnation of the Lord Jesus, and quit being 'taken in' by the ones who want to attack everything in the faith. The same can be said for every Christian day of celebration. Still, I do not throw the day to the devil because of that. Many celebrate Sunday improperly, with everything but church. Yet, Christians do not need to cease celebrating it properly due to many who celebrate it improperly. In fact, I know of no one who celebrates Saturnalia now.Ĭhristmas has been compromised by commercialism, greed, and many other things. Christians did not take their days of celebration, they tried to steal the celebration day of the Christians. We do not need to give it up, because they want to steal our day.Īfter Constantine made their celebration illegal, they took the day of Christmas, so they could continue their celebration then. They have tried to steal the day from Christians. So it was not the Christians who celebrated Saturnalia, it was later, that those who were still into paganism, saw the joyous time of celebration of Christians, and decided to take the 25th to continue their celebration. He gave much, very much and at this time of the year, Christians give much, very much in celebration of that. They reasoned that God gave, so we give, to remember the Gift of God. So the Christians waited till their celebration was over, and chose to give gifts to each other, in celebration of the gift of God to this world, Jesus Christ. ![]() Since the pagan holiday had ended, and the debauchery of its celebration was over, the coming back to the celebration of light was a symbolic joy to the Christians.ĭuring Saturnalia, the pagans had given candles in celebration of their god. ![]() To the Christians, they thought of the coming of Jesus to earth, and this was the coming of The Light of the world and He began to shine at that day of incarnation and birth. More and more sunlight hours would be started on that day. So, they chose to use the time to prepare for a special day, the twenty-fifth of December, the winter solstice, when the day was the shortest, but now beginning to be longer each day. The early Christians had to cease work for the one, three, five, or seven day celebration and they did not want to celebrate Saturn, or partake in the pagan ritual. This equality was temporary, of course and Petronius speaks of an impudent slave being asked at some other time of the year whether it was December yet. Slaves were treated as equals, allowed to wear their masters' clothing, and be waited on at meal time in remembrance of an earlier golden age thought to have been ushered in by the god. Instead of the toga, less formal dinner clothes were permitted, as was the pilleus, a felt cap normally worn by the manumitted slave that symbolized the freedom of the season. Slaves were permitted to use dice and did not have to work. It was an occasion for celebration, visits to friends, and the presentation of wax candles (cerei), perhaps to signify the returning light after the solstice, and small earthenware figurines (sigillaria).ĭuring the holiday, restrictions were relaxed and the social order inverted. Catullus describes it as "the best of days" (optimus dierum), and Seneca complains that the "whole mob has let itself go in pleasures." Pliny the Younger writes that he retired to his room while the rest of the household celebrated. The Saturnalia was the most popular holiday of the Roman year. So it was celebrated from the 17th to the 23th, not even on the 25th. Still, everyone seems to have continued to celebrate for a full week. In Cicero's time, the Saturnalia lasted seven days, from December 17-23.Īugustus attempted to limit the holiday to three days, so the civil courts would not have to be closed any longer than necessary, and Caligula extended it to five. Afterwards, according to Macrobius, the celebrants shouted "Io, Saturnalia!" After sacrifice at the temple, there was a public banquet (convivium publicum), which Livy says was introduced in 217 BC (there also may have been a lectisternium, a banquet for the god in which its image is placed in attendance, as if a guest). It also was a festival day (dies festus). Ian.), midway between two other agricultural festivals: In the Roman calendar, the Saturnalia was designated a holy day, or holiday, (feriae publicae) on which religious rites were performed. The Saturnalia officially was celebrated on December 17 (a.d. ![]()
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