IO SATURNALIA - Saturnalia Influences on Christmas
One of our Essential Questions asks how our modern culture has been influenced by classical culture. How about the holidays?! Please do some research online about Saturnalia: when is it, how it got started, how it was celebrated, what it was all about, the history of it, etc. Then, armed with that knowledge, write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) that highlights some of the interesting facts that you discovered in your research. You should also include a few sentences that describe some of the Christmas traditions that were derived/stolen from Saturnalia.
RESPONSE DUE: MONDAY 1/3/11
The Greeks celebrated saternalia on december 17.and would last for seven days. they would decorate trees, like we do but they kept them outside. they would also have a holiday feast, but hey did to honor the gods while modern day people do it for the fun and to enjoy company of family. Saternalia was about the celebration of the god Saturn and was their most celebrated holiday that the greeks enjoyed.
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ReplyDeleteSaturnalia is a festive holiday, much like Christmas, that was celebrated by the Romans. It is a week long celebration that lasts from December 17 through December 23. Saturnalia celebrated Saturn, the god of harvest. It includes lots of feasting and activities like ours. They decorate trees, like we do, but leave them outside. It is a time for families to spend quality time together, which Christians do as well.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was the Roman version of Christmas. Saturnalia was celebrated from December 17 through December 23. During this time there were many festivities and exchanging of gifts. Saturnalia was to celebrate the winter solstice, and the god Saturn. Saturnalia was kicked off with rituals and sacrifices in the Temple of Saturn. Romans would exchange gifts, have good food, play games, and even masters would switch places with their slaves. Christmas is actually very similar to Saturnalia. The Romans would decorate trees, as do we, they also exchange gifts, and eat good meals. During Christmas we also have good meals and exchange gifts.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a holiday celebrated in honor of the god Saturn. It was celebrated from December 17th to the 23rd. During Saturnalia sacrfices were made to Saturn and slaves were treated as equals. Much like Christmas, during Saturnalia people would exchange gifts, have large feasts, and decorate trees. Overall Christmas and Saturnalia are times of merriment.
ReplyDeleteOn this day people would relax, slaves wouldnt have to work and people would dress casually. Saturnalia was a holiday celebrated from Dec. 17-23. This holiday honored the god Saturn. The people would go to the temple of saturn to pray and worship saturn. Like today, people would exchange gifts, decorate trees with and have feasts.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia is a holiday that was celebrated from December 17 to the 23. It was in honor of the god Saturn. It is a time of celebration and a time to pray to Saturn. They would also go and decorate trees but they would be left outside. They would have feasts and treat the slaves as equals.
ReplyDeleteThis holiday was celebrated by the Romans, and is very similar to Christmas. It is a week long celebration that goes from December 17th through December 23rd.This holiday was a time to celebrate the god of Saturn, along with the Winter Solstice. It was a time just like Christmas where families got together, gifts were exchanged, trees were decorated, and have large feasts. Unlike Christmas however the slaves and nobles switched positions!
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia is a Greek holiday celebrated on December 17th celebating the birth of the god, Saturn. Much like Christmas, celebrating the birth of the son of God, Jesus. In addition to those similarities, Greeks also swapped presents and had a school holiday in honor of the celebration, much similar to present-day christians. The Greeks would throw a massive feast, again, like many chistians celebrating Christmas. In the long run both Saturnalia and Christmas are very similar when it comes to traditions.
ReplyDeleteThe Ancient Roman holiday and day of festivity, Saturnalia, celebrated, as the name would suggest, Saturn, and did so starting originally on December seventeenth, and later moving to a span of the seventeenth to the twenty second of December. This day, and later these five days, were known to the Romans as their favorite holiday much as the popular Christmas is known today. There would be a great feast on this day and in general was a day of all round pleasure much as there is in Christmas. The homes of the Romans would have been decorated with greens and lanterns and candles which have exact resemblance to the Christmas Trees, wreathes and all the great heaps of lights which just about everyone uses to decorate their present day homes. On Christmas eve, even right here in Duxbury you may find whole streets lit entirely on the light of the candles in the hundreds of flickering luminaries. Even slaves were relatively free in the season and were even allowed to be served upon by their masters. In the times of giving and cheer of present day, we may see clearly all that had actually been taking place thousands of years ago, before even the simple concept of Christmas or Christ himself had been conceived.
ReplyDeleteMories Wheelock.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was introduced around 217 BC to raise citizen morale after a crushing military defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians.[1] Originally celebrated for a day, on December 17, its popularity saw it grow until it became a week-long extravaganza, ending on the 23rd. Efforts to shorten the celebration were unsuccessful. Augustus tried to reduce it to three days, and Caligula to five. These attempts caused uproar and massive revolts among the Roman citizens.
Saturnalia was a holiday just like christmas. Saturnalia was celebrated on December 17th- December 23rd. Saturnalia was celebrated in honor of the god Saturn; just like we honor the birth of christ on Christmas. During Saturnalia the people would decorate trees, swap gifts, have a break from work/school and have a huge feast . This is very similar to Christmas. We might of stole the idea of decorating trees and giving gifts. Also during this time of the year they would get together with most of the family. Both these holidays and traditions are almost identical.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a week long celebration celebrated by the ancient romans that lasted from December 17th to the 23rd. It was first celebrated in 217 B.C. to raise the peoples morale after a defeat by the carthaginians. Originally it was one day, on the 17th , but was later extended from the 17th to the 23rd. In this holiday, there was a school break, gambiling was allowed trees were decorated outside houes, and gifts were exchanged. Everyone was treated as an equal, and the slaves wore hats signifying that they were free for the day. There was also the untying of the ropes that bound Saturn all year long.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a holiday festival celebrated fro Dec. 17-23 to honor Saturn the god of fertility. One of the main customs involves the reversal of roles regarding the slaves and their masters. Although it is said that most of the cooking and preperation was done by slaves, the masters would then serve the food to their slaves, with daily banquets. Saturnalia has had its influence on Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. During Saturnalia, Romans would decorate trees, which was then used during Christmas.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was celebrated on December 17 for one day and soon it lasted a whole week until December 23. People would make gifts and exchange them with family and friends, the children had a school holiday and there were often gatherings. There would be large dinners and the people wouldn’t have to dress fancy, they would only wear informal clothes. The slaves would make all of the food and then the masters would usually serve them, for it was a day of equality and relaxation. In fact, slaves couldn’t even get in trouble or be punished. Christmas seems to have stolen some traditions though like giving gifts, having no school, and having a big meal.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a holiday that started December 17 and lasted till December 23. the celebration was in the honor of the god Saturn. The roles would be switched and the masters would have to serve food for the slaves. Many of Saturnalias traditions are used today. Like decorating trees, having a feast and giving gifts.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was celebrated December 17th through the 23rd. Saturnalia was celebrated with a feast like we celebrate Christmas. Also in Saturnalia people decorated trees like in Christmas. Luke M
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a celebration that lasted one day, originally. Then, it gradually grew to be a week long. It was celebrated from the 17th through the 23rd. Some of the traditions of Saturnalia included no school, the giving of gifts, generous feasts, wearing the pileus, and decorating trees outside of the house. Christmas has similar traditions that may have been heavily influenced by Saturnalia. It has a long vacation from school, gift giving, big family dinners, wearing santa hats, and tree decorating.
ReplyDelete-Sol
Saturnalia was a holiday celebrated from December 17-23. Grown-ups got time off of work and kids got time off of school so they could celebrate. It was celebtared with feasts and trees outside being decorated and gift giving. Saturnalia gets its name from the god it is celebrated in honor of; Saturn. We get the name Christmas because it is celebrated in honor of the birth of Christ. Christmas stole other traditions from this holiday such as having time off from school/work, exchanging gifts and families gathering and having a meal together. Chandler G.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a holiday celebrated by Romans from December 17th to December 23rd. Like us, Romans enjoyed no school, no work, giving gifts, and feasting during the holiday. The Romans also decorated trees as we do but the trees remained outdoors. Saturnalia was dedicated towards the Titan Saturn. Traditions were that Romans wore special hats during Saturnalia. Perhaps that's where the tradition to wear Santa hats came from. Another fun time was when masters and slaves switched roles to see how it was like from the other side. Saturnalia was a time of celebration, dancing, and festive feelings.
ReplyDelete-Notus
Saturnalia was a Roman holiday that celebrated the god of fertility, Saturn. It was originally only supposed to last a day, December 17th, but soon became an entire week of partying. There would be large banquets and feasts all week, like the one we have on Christmas, and masters would even serve their slaves. Slaves were except from punishment, and everyone wore "freedman's caps," hats showing their freedom. Even slaves wore these hats. The children would have school off like modern times, and people would decorate their homes. Families would get together and party, just like modern Christmas.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a holiday that took place from December 17th to December 23rd in the Roman culture. This was a time for relaxing and spending time with your family. In this tradition, the slaves and the owners often reversed roles and got to see what it was like in the other persons view. Like us, the Romans gave gifts and decorated trees. Unlike us however, during Saturnalia the Romans had a custom of wearing hats during the festivities. This celebration was created in the honor of Saturn, the God of harvest. When the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, they enjoyed great abundances of food for all to eat. To Romans Saturnalia was a great holiday that they loved to celebrate.
ReplyDelete~Maia
Aurora-
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was kind of like the Roman equivalence to Christmas nowadays. It lasts from December 17-22, five days. It was celebrated in celebration of the God Saturn, god of the harvest. During it, there was many feasts and joyful celebration. Everyone wore special hats during it. Like Christmas, they decorated trees. Although, they were left outside and were not brought inside the house.
Saturnalia was a celebration in honor of the god Saturn. Saturnalia was celebrated from December 17 to the 23. Saturnalia was originally celebrated to cheer up the towns people after being defeated by the Carthaginians. On these days it was a holiday for school and work. Everyone participated even slaves. People wore colorful togas and pileus. There was gift giving, gambling and game playing. Families would also sit down to big meals together on Saturnalia.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was celebrated from december 17-23. It was for the goddess of harvest, Saturn and to celebrate the winter solstice. during this time everyone parties throughout the week, and feasts. everyone, including slaves, wore freedom caps, to commemorate their freedom. Also they have trees which they decorate, which are outside. Christmas and Saturnalia are very similar but different. Saturnalia is officialy seven days long and Christmas is officialy only one day long but it seems like it is Christmmas for a month and a half. Also, the Romans kept their trees outside while we bring ours inside, that way if they light on fire, like ours sometimes do the house doesn't burn down. One of the many similarities though is that both holidays celebrate a god. Overall saturnalia and Christmas are very similar with a few distinct differences.
ReplyDeleteAchilles
Saturnalia was a holiday celebrated by the Romans in honor of the god Saturn. It went from December 17-23. Romans did not go to work or school just like people do now with Christmas. They also gave gifts like people do today. Slaves were even set free for the day and everyone wore hats called "freedom caps".
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a week long celeration held in honor og the god Saturn. In between the 17th and 23rd many festivities took place. Such events as making sacrifices to Saturn and treating slaves equally was all in the grand scheme. Someof the traditions done during Saturnalia are associated with the holiday Christmas. For instance in both cases there were large feasts, exchanging of gifts and finally the decorating of trees. Saturnali, much like Christmas was just a time to relax and have a good time!
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was very like to holidays to me, christmas and Hanukka. The clebration was in honor of the god saturn. It was a 7 day celebration (like Hanukka) and was from december 17th to the 23rd. Many traditions were preformed such as treating slaves like regular people, and whearing hats that look like a common day beanie. People also had feasts, like todays holiday dinners. They also decorated trees and exchanged gifts. These holidays were very close in similarity
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia is taken place between December 17-23 lasting seven days particularly at the time of the winter solstice. The celebration was in honor of the god Saturn and it was a day where slaves were treated equally and they got to wear some sort of nifty hat. They had presents and they decorated trees. Like Christmas to me, I decorate a Christmas tree and exchange gifts with my family.
ReplyDeleteBack in ancient Rome, a celebration called Saturnalia was held, very similar to the modern holiday of Christmas. Saturnalia celebrated the god Saturn, while Christmas celebrates Jesus Christ. During Saturnalia, Romans would decorate trees outside their homes, just like we decorate trees inside our homes. They would throw great parties and invite friends and family to their homes and have feasts, just like the modern day holiday parties we have. They exchanged gifts for Saturnalia, just like what occurs for Christmas. Saturnalia and Christmas share many traditions.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia is a festival to celebrate the god Saturn. Saturnalia started on December 17th, but usually lasted a week. The festival began in the Temple of Saturn with sacrifices and rituals. After the rituals the senators would say "Io, Saturnalia!" and the festivities began. Traditions of Saturnalia was for masters and servants to switch roles for the holiday. Things that Saturnalia and Christmas have in common is exchanging gifts and decorating in greenary like wreaths and garlands. Romans also decorated trees, but did not bring them inside.
ReplyDeleteThe Greek holiday Saturnalia could be compared to the Catholic holiday, Christmas. For one they are both dedicated to a worshiped figure, for the Greeks, Saturn, and for Catholics, Jesus Christ. The Greeks would have a large feast, just as Catholics have a large dinner. And one of the most famous Christmas traditions, the gift exchange, was also possibly influenced by the Greeks
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia orginally began on December 17 which is close to December 25, Christmas. Also it was a school holiday just like Christmas. Basicly that means no school on that day and also for 5 days or 6 because of Saturnalia. This was also celebrated privately with family, like it usally is with Christmas. Also normal clothing wasn't worn (togas) but sweaters. I don't know about you but I usally spend Christmas in my PJs. I guess these holidays have some similaiites.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a a holiday that was celebrated by the Romans from December 17 to December 23. It was in honor of the sun god Saturn. They would feast in honor of Saturn, much like we do, except we don't honor a god, we honor our family and friend's. The Romans would also decorate trees outdoors. We do the same thing except we bring the trees indoors to decorate. And one of the coolest things during Saturnalia was the reversal of roles. Slaves would be in charge, and important and high ranking people would become peasants and slaves. Overall, both Saturnalia and Christmas are/were largely celebrated holidays where everyone can have fun and be merry.
ReplyDeleteAtalanta:
ReplyDeletethroughout the research, i've learned that Saturnalia is a holiday celebrated on December 17, that lasts about a week. during the week long celebration there were many festive traditions that occured including lighting the trees and exchanging gifts. on this day wealthy men and women would relax the whole day while servants would provide them with anything they pleased. the celebration was in honor of the sun god Saturn. this celebration is the christmas version of us today.
Saturnalia is a Roman holiday where the Romans would celebrate the solstice, the god Saturn, and many other things. Saturnalia would happen in December 17-23. All schools and work was off for the holidays, even the slaves could join the party!! Just like Christmas, they would decorate trees, have presents, and have big feasts with everyone.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a massive Roman festival celebrated from December 17-23. Though it is a cousin of the American Christmas, it is not really like it at all. It was basically society turning upside down. Slaves would take positions as the masters and masters as slaves. Also, there was much feasting and drinking. Through the streets there was just mass amounts of drunk people wandering the streets. But hey, they were happy at least. That is what Saturnalia was.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a Roman holiday celebrated between December 23rd. It was held in honor of the gods and was introduced in 217BC. Many traditions during Saturnalia are similar to Christmas traditions. One similar tradition is that Romans exchanged gifts or presents. Also a large feast was eaten where the Romans would dress up, just as many people who celebrate Christmas so. Lastly Romans decorated trees outside their house during the celebration.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a very famous holiday for the Romans that was celebrated from December 17th- december 23rd. Saturnalia was originally started to celebrate the god Saturn. In this time, gifts would be exchanged, there would be a feast, and a reversal of the roles between the masters and slaves. There also would be a decorating of an outdoor tree. These events are similar to christmas in many ways. During christmas, people decorate trees, but the trees are usually inside a person's house. People now also have a feast/dinner and swap gifts.
ReplyDeleteSaturnalia was a winter holiday celebrated by the ancient Romans that originated around 217. Saturnalia celebrates the god Saturn while Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. Saturnalia starts on December 17th and ends December 23rd. During Saturnailia, much like christmas, children that attended school had a vacation during the celebration. During saturnalia even slaves participated, one day during the celebration the slaves and masters traded places and the masters served the slaves.
ReplyDeleteThe romans also decorate a tree outside of their home while for christmas we decorate trees inside. We get many ideas for christmas from saturnalia.