Ancient Holidays and Festivals

By N.S. Gill, About.com Guide

Holidays today tend to be fun, colorful events where people use or wear special items, bestow gifts, and observe time-honored rituals that may make sense to participants. Ancient holidays also served religious and community-building purposes.

Vernal Equinox and Spring Celebrations
Fall Equinox - Halloween / Samhain / Harvest Celebrations
Winter Solstice - Christmas / Saturnalia etc.
The Ancient Calendar

Vernal Equinox and Spring Celebrations

Here we're in the realm of Valentine's Day, which had ancient Roman precedents. As a spring celebration, fertility concerns flavor the festivities.

Fall Equinox - Halloween / Samhain / Harvest Celebrations

The holidays we celebrate as Halloween and Samhain, coming at a time when the barrier between the Underworld and the world of the living is thought to be weak, have ancient precedents, including ceremonies for the ancestral ghosts and mask-wearing occasions.

Winter Solstice - Christmas / Saturnalia etc.

Sol Invictus. The Unconquered Sun. From Corbridge.

The winter solstice comes at the time of year when there is the least amount of sun. Solstice celebrations tend to be filled with light from oil lamps or candles, which may be thought of as encouraging the sun, and gift-giving.

The Ancient Calendar

Ancient festivals were tied to the calendar. The Roman Fasti, which we use as the Roman calendar, gets its name from the festival days priests created it to show.

Ancient / Classical History