SATURNALIA, a festival celebrated by the Romans in honour of the god Saturnus. ElinoNos.) According to some traditions, it had been celebrated by the aborigines long before the building of the city, and was instituted by the fabulous king Janus, after the disappearance of Saturnus from the earth. Others said that It was instituted by the Pelaagians, or by the followers of Hercules, who had been left behind in Italy. (Macrob., Sat.; i. 7.) A second set of traditions referred the institution of the. Saturnalia to a much later period ; one of them ascribed it to King Tullus llostiline, who, after a successful war against the Allem and Sabines, was said to have founded the temple and established the festival of Saturnus at Rome. (3lacrob., Sat.,' i. 8.) Another tradition, adopted by Livy (ii. 21) and Dionysius ital.), which refers it to a still later time, ascribed the institution of the Saturnalia to the consuls A. Sempronius and M. Minucius (497 u.e.). The apparent incongruity of this and sonic other accounts may easily be removed : those who trace the Saturnalia to a period antecedent to the building of the city, can only mean that the worship of Saturnus was very ancient in Italy, while those who assign a later date to the institution must be understood to refer to the introduction of the worship into the city of (tome; and although festivals In honour of Saturnus may have been celebrated at his altar in the Roman Fortin. previous to 497 gas, yet the regular and periodical celebration of the Saturnalia may not have been established before this time, when s teuaple was dedicated to the god in the clivue leading from the Forms to the Capitol. After this time the Saturnalia were celebrated regu larly every year, on the 19th of December, the whole of which month was sacred to Saturnus; but after J. Clesar had added two days to tiff month the celebration began on the 17th (Macrob.,' Sat; i. 10), an( the people, being fund of such merry.makings, continued the festivities until the 19th, and even longer. Augustus at last sanctioned thi celebration of the Saturnalia during three days, and Caligula am Claudius increased the number to five clays. (Macrob., Sat.,' i. 10 Sucton., Calig.; 17 ; Dion Casa, lix., p. 739.)
The Saturnalia was a harvest festival, and was held, as we have seen at a time when all agricultural labours were over ; and as at such i season every husbandman would naturally give himself and his servant a holiday, and offer his prayers to the god whose especial protection h solicited, so the Saturnalia were national festivals inetitutsx1 with th banes object. It-was that during the golden age the reign of Saturnus there were no slaves, and the Saturnalia over intended to restore that happy state of things for a short time, Is icing to servants and slaves a complete holiday. They were on this ccaaion allowed to appear in the dress of free citizens (Dion Cass., Ix., 779), were waited upon at their feasts by their masters, were free row every kind of service, and enjoyed the most perfect freedom of leech. Even criminals were sometimes restored to freedom, and then dedicated their chains to Saturnus. The whole season was one of universal rejoicing for all the people of Rome, and the city resounded eith the shouts, " lo, Saturnalia I fo, bona Saturnalia I " Everybody to and drank plentifully, and invited or visited his friends and elations. It was also customary for persons to make presents to ono mother on this occasion Epist.,' 18; Sueton., 'Aug.,' 75), and :heats presented their patrons with wax-candles. (3Iaerob., 'Sat.,' i. ' ; Varro, Do Ling. Lat.; iv., p. 19, Bipont.) Children generally received little figures, which were called oscine, or aigilla, from which' he Lest day of the Saturnalia derived the name " sigillaria." During his festival all business, private as well as public, was suspended ; no car was commenced, no battle was fought, and no puniehment was nflicted ou offenders. (Macrob., Sat.,' i. 10.) The persons who offered lacrifiees to Saturn had their heads uncovered.
The Greek writers, when speaking of the Roman Saturnalia, gene -ally call the feast " Kronia," as they considered the two festivals, as reell as the deities in whose honour they were held, Saturnus and Kronos, es identical. (Comp. Buttmann, 'Mythologus,' ii, p. 52, &c.; Hartung. 'Die Religion der Miner, ii., p. 124. &e.)