Io (trans."YAY!"), Saturnalia!
Dec. 17th, 2015 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
capri0mniToday, is -- at least for the next four-ish hours -- the first day of Saturnalia (the last day is December 23). So I am once again posting about bafflement that this is the holiday that's become synonymous with wickedness in our Christian hegemony, while Lupercalia got turned in to Valentine's Day and is shoved down the throats of kids as soon as they enter preschool.
Quick review for the unenlightened -- the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia
Note two points: First, the point of the gifts, and how the strength of the friendship was considered inversely proportional to the expense of the object -- gag gifts were especially prized, because their humor demonstrated that you understood the person you were giving them to. Second, note that they "celebrated" ancient rituals of human sacrifice by as a way to make the point that: "We don't do that anymore!" (Giving masks and candles instead of chopping people's heads off and throwing men into temple fires).
Sure -- it wasn't all sweetness and light. Saturnalia was also the season for gladiator battles. But, on balance, compared with the rest of Roman culture at the time, it was (apparently) pretty laid back and easy-going.
Quick review for the unenlightened -- the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia
Note two points: First, the point of the gifts, and how the strength of the friendship was considered inversely proportional to the expense of the object -- gag gifts were especially prized, because their humor demonstrated that you understood the person you were giving them to. Second, note that they "celebrated" ancient rituals of human sacrifice by as a way to make the point that: "We don't do that anymore!" (Giving masks and candles instead of chopping people's heads off and throwing men into temple fires).
Sure -- it wasn't all sweetness and light. Saturnalia was also the season for gladiator battles. But, on balance, compared with the rest of Roman culture at the time, it was (apparently) pretty laid back and easy-going.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-18 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-18 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-19 08:15 am (UTC)I'm trying to think up some amusingly suitable gag gifts for my family now...
no subject
Date: 2015-12-19 12:50 pm (UTC)LOL!! (And yes, they are).
I'm trying to think up some amusingly suitable gag gifts for my family now...
\o/
Christmas Crackers, with their bad jokes, cheap toys, and paper crowns, are to Saturnalia style gag gifts what golden eagles are to Tyrannosaurus Rex -- direct descendants.*
...So -- maybe make some personalized crackers? They wouldn't have the gunpowder "pop" when you pull them open, but maybe you could write a little rhyme or something silly, based on something that happened to the people 'round the table, this past year?
*The ancient Roman history of the City of London (as distinct from plain "London") is explained rather amusingly (and rapidly) in this video: https://youtu.be/LrObZ_HZZUc -- I figure these traditions are chiefly British, rather than American or German (or Netherlandish) because they spread out in concentric rings from the Roman city.