Winter Solstice
Today in the northern hemisphere is the shortest day of the year: the winter solstice.
The word solstice, just for a change, comes from the Latin word “Solstitium“.
It means “Stationary Sun”, that is, the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky.
Obviously the ancient Romans didn’t have our astronomical information but anyway it was the time of the most important pagan festival of the year, the so called Saturnalia, celebrated in honor of Saturn, one of the most important Roman gods.
The invention is due probably to the Emperor Domitian, and the festivity lasted for a whole week ending up exactly on December 21.
In these days EVERYTHING was allowed , for example
social differences were abolished, servants could pretend to be free men,
banquets began with gifts and good wishes but ending with any kind of strangeness and perversion!
I’ll stop here!
But above all during these days people used to give friends and relatives objects or thoughts
Ring a bell?
