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Saturnalia is the feast with which the Romans commemorated the dedication
of the temple of the god Saturn, which was on 17 December. Over the years,
it expanded to a whole week, to 23 December.
Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals. It was marked
by tomfoolery and reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters
ostensibly switched places.
Origins The Saturnalia was a large and important public festival in
Rome. The Saturnalia was originally celebrated in Ancient Rome for only a
day, but it was so popular that soon it lasted a week, despite Augustus'
efforts to reduce it to three days, and Caligula's, to five. It involved
the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of
the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of
Saturn during the rest of the year. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected
master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Besides the public r
