How to Celebrate Saturnalia

Last Updated: January 31, 2023

Saturnalia is the Roman festival honoring Saturnus, who introduced agriculture and the arts of civilized life. It was the season when agricultural work was completed; a sort of joyous Thanksgiving-type holiday of relaxation and merriment. During Saturnalia, businesses, courts and schools were closed.

This is a guide to celebrating a reconstructed Saturnalia today.

Steps

1
Wear the colors of the holiday. These are green and gold.
2
Decorate over doorways, windows and even stairs with greenery. Garlands or wreaths are ideal. Add golden cutouts of the sun or golden pinecones, nuts, acorns.

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3
If you have living trees on your own property, hang them with sun symbols, stars, and faces of the God Janus (who watches over the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one). In Roman times, trees were not brought indoors but were decorated where they grew. It is also possible to decorate living plants in pots.
4
Make cookies in the shapes of fertility symbols, suns and moons and stars, and herd animal shapes. You can make your own cookie cutters if you're keen! Use green and/or gold food colors or sprinkles.
5
If you are of legal drinking age where you live, make some mulsum, a drink of wine and honey.
6
Greet people with the traditional cry of "Io, Saturnalia!" This is pronounced "eeyo sa-tur-NAL-ee-uh".
7
Invite your friends for a feast and a party on December 17th. Saturnalia is a joyous holiday and Romans shared it with friends and family.
8
Give small presents, including presents of food or sweets, or candles or lamps. Attach a clever note or a short witty poem to your gifts. Read the Roman poet Martial ("Xenia" and "Apophoreta") for some authentic examples from Roman times.
9
If you have a lararium, make sure it is clean. Safely light a candle there. Display and decorate a statue of Saturnus, if you have one, or a photo of a statue or painting of him.
10
Celebrate freedom and destroy hierarchies. Saturnalia was a type of opposite-day in which slaves could enjoy luxury alongside their masters. You may want to wear a pileus, a conical felt cap that in the classical world represented freedom.

Community Q&A

Question

Why did the Romans just all of the sudden decide to celebrate Saturnalia one year?

Community Answer

It wasn't sudden. It was developed over centuries to become a major public holiday with free games and entertainment. After Christianity becomes the state religion - 4th century CE - previous religious beliefs were forcibly abolished and their major festivals subsumed in order to maintain popular seasonal festivals. Saturnalia became Christmas.
Question

Where is Saturnalia celebrated?

Community Answer

During the Roman period, Saturnalia was celebrated across the Roman Empire. Today, however, it is celebrated by reconstructionist pagans around the world.
Question

Did Jesus and his family celebrate Saturnalia?

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Community Answer

Yes it is possible that Jesus and his family celebrated Saturnalia as Jesus lived during the Roman period.