As
we go about our holiday preparations, we may want take a moment to reflect on
the unruly origins of some of our holiest traditions. Our modern feasting and gift-giving December customs
are tame affairs compared to the madcap, authority debunking, and outlandish
revelry associated with the Feast of Fools, a medieval free-for-all if there
ever was one. The good men and women of the Middle Ages took
their cue from the Saturnalia celebrations of antiquity, and they celebrated
much as the Romans did: servants got a free work pass, nobles were lorded over
by their staff, and naïfs were esteemed as wise men. Sartorial codes were cast aside, and those on
the lowest rungs of society attended sumptuous banquets, where their masters
waited on them hand and foot. The
clergy switched places with the laity, mocking the Church, its doctrines and
rites. A young boy might preside over
services as bishop or even pope. Piety
was scorned. Gambling was permitted. People took to the streets. They ate, drank, and were violently merry;
most likely because when the partying ended what was there to look forward to
but cold, darkness, and hunger.
The Saturnalia is often described as
a pagan holiday. And yet the Roman
celebration has roots in both pagan and early Christian cultures. One of the most popular accounts of this time
of epic feasting was penned by Ambrosius
Theodosius Macrobius (or simply “Macrobius,” who lived in the fifth century AD). In “Saturnalia,” he describes himself as
having been “born under foreign skies,” which has led to speculation that he
may have been of Greek origin. The book (a series of dialogues fashioned
after Plato’s Symposium) is a
compendium of Saturnalia practices, explanations of the Roman calendar,
comparisons of pagan and Christian beliefs, the works of Vergil, as well as the
meaning of insults, jokes, and riddles.
According to Macrobius, he and his guests spent most of a month celebrating
the Saturnalia in this way: lazing about, philosophizing, debating, bantering,
and, of course, drinking and feasting.
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| A Roman Calendar depicting Saturnalian dice on the table via Wikimedia Commons |
Other accounts describe the Roman Saturnalia as a one-day celebration to a week-long event coinciding with the winter solstice. No serious business was to take place, people could dance naked, dice and other diversions (vices ordinarily) were perfectly acceptable. Perhaps, in his infinite wisdom, Saturn thought a large dose of hedonism during one of the darkest times of the year would result in a happier society overall; or he may have felt that after, after all the hard work of sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting, people just needed a break.
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| Ruins of the Temple of Saturn, Rome via Wikimedia Commons |
While the Romans worshiped Zeus or Jupiter (god of the sky) as the supreme overlord, they continued to pay their respects to Saturn. Sun gods (Saturn was often referred to as the original sun) didn't die out so easily, never mind if they had been banished to the darkest places in the universe. The Romans may have also felt themselves in some way as descended from Saturn, for it was widely believed that the Titan had sojourned in Italy. It offers one explanation for enduring popularity of the Saturnalia. Charity, exchanging gifts, during December holidays can be traced back to the Saturnalia, as well as our winter festivals of light and merriment. Kings and queens, Catholics and Protestants, from different eras may have sought to put an end to all the carousing, but vestiges of the Saturnalia are still with us, despite its spirit of fun, foolery, and irreverence.
Sources
Cronus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus
Macrobious. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobius
“Macrobius: The Saturnalia” http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Macrobius/Saturnalia/home.html
“Praetextatus
– Saeculum Praetextati: Macrobius’ Saturnalia”. www.maijastinakahlos.net/b/kirjoituksia/praetextatus/vettius-agorius-praetextatus-saeculum-praetextati-macrobius-saturnalia-ch-51/
