The Pagan Origins of Christmas? Saturnalia: Pre-Christian Holidays in Ancient Rome

   

IO SATVRNALIA!

That’s the traditional phrase the ancient Romans shouted during the Saturnalia celebrations of December 17 ～ 23 [i].

Apart from exchanging gifts, eating, drinking and singing, the participants engaged in playing games with dice or knucklebones, either for money or for nuts [ii].

Pileus

The typical headwear associated with these holidays was the pileus [iii], a conical felt cap. The pileus can also be commonly seen on depictions of certain mythological figures e.g. Ulixes (ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ 【Odysseus】) and the Dioscuri (ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΟΙ【Dioskouroi】).

 

The Dioscuri are often called “saviours” [iv] [v], so it is no surprise that their typical headgear is seen as a symbol of liberation. A slave would also wear a pileus when he was manumitted by his master [vi].  The Saturnalia period was seen as a time of liberty, so slaves were allowed to do and say more than usual.

By the way, the pileus worn by the Dioscuri and freedmen was most likely considered to be different from the Phrygian pileus [vii]. The Phrygian type has a pointed tip that extends forward and it was associated Orientals, especially with the Trojans [viii]. In Greek and Roman art, this Phrygian cap was used to emphasise the eastern origin of certain mythological figures like Attis and Mythras for example.
 

Modern Saturnalia altar: Left: sigillaria (figurines) of gladiarors and bust of Bacchus (/Dionysos/Liber Pater). Right: sigillaria of a dog, a horse and a rooster. Middle: copy of fresco from Pompeii depicting Saturnus, dice, knucklebones, a wine cup and candles (all items shown were associated with the Saturnalia celebrations).

Name and mythological origin

The Saturnalia were named after Saturnus. This is the God that was immortalised in the English “Saturday” and Dutch “Zaterdag [ix]. According to legend, Saturnus was banned from mount Olympus after He was defeated and dethroned by His son Iuppiter as a revenge for eating His other children and attempting to eat Iuppiter Himself [x].

According to some accounts, He then fled to Italy by ship, where He taught the people how to work the field and became King alongside Ianus [xi]. His reign was believed to be a Golden Age of peace and freedom. When, one day, He suddenly disappeared, Ianus commissioned a statue in His likeness that was to be worshipped from then on. He also organised the Saturnalia in His honour, to remind people of the equality everyone had enjoyed under His reign. [xii].

Modern writers tend to emphasise the element of “role reversal” when talking about the Saturnalia, often to draw a parallel with a similar customs of the middle ages or later. While there are a few examples in Roman literature that can be interpreted as instances of the slave becoming the master, it’s actually the element of social equality that takes the foreground in most Roman reports. The fact that slaves were allowed to wear the cap of a freedman is easily explained as a symbol of them becoming equal to their masters, but it is hard to explain how this would symbolise a reversal of the roles [xiii]. Equality also makes more sense than role reversal in light of the temporary return to the social order of the reign of Saturnus.

The cult statue of the temple of Saturnus in Rome had its feet tied together with wool throughout the year, but on the day of His festival, the wool was removed as a symbol of the temporary restoration of His power [xiv].

Depictions of Saturnus are not very common, but the ones that do exist are quite similar. He is typically shown as a bearded man with His head covered. Interestingly, sacrifices to Him were made in the Greek manner, meaning that the priest himself would not cover his head during the ritual [xv].

In His hand, Saturnus carries a sickle, as the symbol His agricultural function.

It also reminds us of the myth where He castrates His father Caelus (Greek: ΟΥΡΑΝΟΣ 【Ouranos】) to punish Him [xvi].

According to another Saturnalia legend, early inhabitants of Latium sacrificed human heads to Dis Pater and men to Saturnus because they had been told to do so by an oracle.

When the Demigod Hercules witnessed this barbaric custom on His journey through Italy, He reinterpreted the Greek words of the oracle so that the cruel sacrifices could be replaced with benign ones: Henceforth, Dis Pater would get masks and Saturnus would get candles. [xvii]

Several Roman authors [xviii] mention candles as gift for the Saturnalia and masks also seem to have played a role. 

Saturnalia vs. Christmas

In conclusion, I would like to talk about the link between the Saturnalia and Christmas.

There certainly are many similarities between the two, like the decorating of the house with greenery, the symbolism of candles, the exchanging of gifts, the tradition of singing songs and perhaps even the bearded winter visitors Saturnus and Santa Claus respectively, but we should be careful not to exaggerate the continuity of these customs.

Many people seem to want to insist that the modern Christmas celebrations are nothing more than a Christianised version of the Saturnalia or alternatively the Germanic Yule tide celebrations. But we should be aware of the fact that for most of these customs, there is a period of hundreds of years -more than 1000 in some cases- without any evidence of continuity between certain ancient traditions and their modern equivalents.

It seems therefore more likely that most similarities are either due to a basic human urge, e.g. the urge to celebrate during the coldest period of the year (as similar traditions exist in countries that are nowhere near Europe like China and Japan) or due to fairly recent (Renaissance～ ) revivalist efforts.

It would be unfair to our ancestors of the past 1500 years to claim that they were somehow less creative than our ancestors from antiquity. One does not need an education in any kind of paganism to get inspired by the changes we witness in nature around us as seasons pass by. I argue that that is just human instinct. As far as the author is concerned, it seems perfectly possible for traditions that may appear somewhat pagan to have originated in a society that was predominantly Christian.


Sources
[i] Martial. Epigrams: book XI 2.5.
[ii] Lucian. Saturnalia: vol. IV. / Martial. Epigrams: book IV, 3.
[iii] Martial. Epigrams: book XI, 6.
[iv] Cornell, Tim (2012) The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c.1000–264 BC). Routledge: p293.] 
[v] Bonnefoy, Yves (1992) Greek and Egyptian Mythologies. University of Chicago Press: p164.
[vi] James W. Ermatinger (2015) The World of Ancient Rome: A Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO: p113.

[vii] Pileus described as “Phrygian”: Apuleius, The Golden Ass 11. 8 "pileo textili crocotisque Phrygiis".
[viii] Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh & Sarah Stewart (2010) The Age of the Parthians. I.B.Tauris: p63.
[ix] M. Philippa e.a. (2003-2009) Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands: “zaterdag”.
[x] Vergil, Aeneid 8.320–325.
[xi] Ovidius. Fasti: January I.
[xii] Macrobius, Saturnalia book 1, 7.23–7.26.
[xiii] Beard, Mary (2014) Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up. University of California Press: p64.

[xiv] Macrobius, Saturnalia book I.8.5.
[xv] Macrobius, Saturnalia book I.8.2.
[xvi] Cicero, De Natura Deorum 2. 24.
[xvii] Macrobius, Saturnalia book I.7.28-31.
[xviii] Martial. Epigrams: book XIV, 40.