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Glite Dictionary
Saturnalia

Saturnalia

1 9.9
A Roman festival with loud feasting when people often switch social roles
  • noun
  • /ˌsætərˈneɪliə/
  • Literature
translation icon : saturnales
  • Saturnalia was a temporary return of the Golden Age, when goodwill prevailed among all.
  • Saturnalia festival
  • Roman Saturnalia

And Saturnalia became the, the Christian Christmas.

Examples

  • In ancient Rome, Saturnalia was a time of joyous celebration where people exchanged gifts and indulged in hearty meals.

  • Roman precursors of Christmas, Kalends and Saturnalia, were both events characterized by lavish gift-giving, spending, feasting, carousing, and overall extravagance.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Christmas had nothing to do with the birth of Christ, they said, but was really the old Roman Saturnalia which the early Christians had taken over.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Saturnalia began around December 17, and all work was suspended for seven days..." Romans took to the streets with carnival-like abandon, shouting 'To Saturnalia.'

    Blog text (19)

  • A Roman festival season commenced on 17 December with Saturnalia and reached a peak on the winter solstice, 25 December, the birthday of the Unconquered Sun.

    Academic text (1990)

  • On the first day of Saturnalia, everything in Rome shut down and people were expected to forego their normal attire and instead wear plain, simple tunics.

  • Ms. Sass quotes the poet Virgil (70-19 BC), who described the Saturnalia as a merry festival that was the traditional culmination of the ancient Roman year.

    Blog text (19)

  • During Saturnalia, the streets of Rome were filled with laughter, feasting, and a temporary reversal of societal roles.

  • As the festival of Saturnalia approached, citizens prepared for a week of merriment and festivities to honor the god Saturn.

Surface Forms

Saturnalia singular
Saturnalias plural

Etymology

Saturnalia comes from a Roman festival for the god Saturn, a noisy time of 'feasting' and 'role reversal' when people could ignore the usual rules. You can still see the name in the planet Saturn and the day Saturday. That's why Saturnalia now means a wild, joyful party or a time when the normal order is turned upside down.