He who erstwhile was accustomed and preferred to live poorly, now at this feast enjoys himself as much as his means will allow. He who the whole year through has taken pleasure in saving and piling up his pence becomes suddenly extravagant. Everywhere may be seen carousals and well-laden tables luxurious abundance is found in the houses of the rich, but also in the houses of the poor better food than usual is put upon the table. The festival of the Kalends is celebrated everywhere as far as the limits of the Roman Empire extend. In a passage that seems designed to rebut the claim that our modern Christmas season has become too expensive and too commercial, fourth-century pagan Libanius of Antioch described Kalends as follows: The third holiday, Kalends, was essentially a New Year’s party lasting up to five days and involving many of the same activities–or, some would say, excesses–as Saturnalia. The third festival, Kalends, celebrated the New Year, creating a three-week holiday period that is often called simply Saturnalia. On December 25, the Romans celebrated Dies Natalis Solis Invictus, which originally marked the death and rebirth of the Roman sun god Sol and the Persian sun-god Mithras. Saturnalia, a harvest festival (and, thus, the Roman counterpart to Thanksgiving, typically on December 17 and ran from three to six days depending on the emperor in power. Saturnalia was the first of three festivals that created a holiday season, not unlike our own. Saturnalia began about five hundred years before the birth of Christ and continued for about five hundred years after, and Roman historians have documented the celebration in great detail. While early Winter Solstice celebrations reached back thousands of years before Christ, the best-known celebration was Rome’s Saturnalia, a midwinter tribute to Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.

Saturnalia christmas