Saturnalia hat how to#

The cap of freedom, the pillleum was a hat worn by slaves who had been liberated. Slaves were treated as equals and allowed to wear nice clothes, and sit at the head of the table! Appreciate your finest threads and dress up lavishly during this week. However at this time of year they stepped into brightly coloured fabrics – traditionally red, purple and gold. Well, the planet Saturn is in his home sign – Capricorn, making for a very Saturnian Christmas… Here are some of the customs I’ve found, which you might want to include in your holidays this year!īack in Roman times the aristocracy usually wore conservative clothes.

Saturnalia hat how to#

How To Celebrate Saturnalia – For Saturn’s Sake… Still, Saturnalia was so popular it was celebrated in Rome as late as the eighth century – and I think the flavour of festivities reflect our inclinations today! Early Christian authorities in particular objected, and when the Church settled on the nativity the Christians began to push back, nominating the 25th as a sombre ‘holy day’ of peace and quiet.

Not all Romans liked this pagan winter holiday, however, and it was noted that “the mob went out of control”. The slackened rules permitted the slaves to gamble too – even to bid for their freedom. It was very much about generosity to the poor, revelry and a publicly nominated holiday for all to enjoy. The masters served the slaves and treated them to a banquet, adults served children, and all men worshipped together. Slavery was a thing unknown in The Golden Age, and therefore another key part of Saturnalia celebrations was equality – a change in attitude, and role reversal. The Romans celebrated in remembrance of a legendary Golden Age, a time in Italy when Saturn reigned as King, teaching the inhabitants agriculture, and giving them laws. Merry making of ancient Roman culture included giving gifts, feasting, party games and even decorating a tree – so very much like Christmas. Originally held on December 17th but later expanded with festivities from the 17th through to December 23rd, Satrunalia was a time to cease all things considered ‘serious’.Įmperor Augustus (27BC – AD14) shortened the week to a three-day holiday, as it was all getting a bit too rowdy, raucous and chaotic, interrupting the working week. Many of our Christmas traditions come from this celebration – see below!

Image: Pilleus hat from Roman wine jug - Ī Feast Of Festive Fun! Read About This Pagan celebration – and the real roots of the holidays in this article from !Ī pagan festival, Saturnalia hails from ancient Rome and was held in honour of the god Saturn (equivalent of the Greek Cronus).