Merry Saturnalia – The Two Faces of Christmas

 Saturnalia was a ’festival of light’ in Rome, leading through to the Winter Solstice (21st December), signified through an abundant presence of candles (fairy-lights) and pine trees. All of which are meant to be symbols of our quest for ‘knowledge and truth’ (light) at the darker end of the year. The other aspect of Saturnalia is more about the ‘giving and ‘taking’ of energy. However, when you look around our modern day 21st century ‘Saturnalia fest’, I think its safe to say that the ‘knowledge and truth’ has taken more of a back seat. The whole period of ‘time’ called Christmas can be an ‘unnecessary burden’ for too many and it also focuses our energy on the ‘polarisation’ of those that ‘have’ and those that ‘don’t have’. It’s magnified at this time of year, especially when we see the rich, the famous and the ‘gods of our time’ (celebrities) revelling in Saturnalia. The amount of presents being bought in some homes and the over indulgence by those that have discovered their ‘credit cards power’ of no return is beyond madness in my view. As Asterius wrtites in Oratio 4: Adversus Kalendarum Festum;

“This festival teaches even the little children, artless and simple, to be greedy, and accustoms them to go from house to house and to offer novel gifts, fruits covered with silver tinsel. For these they receive, in return, gifts double their value, and thus the tender minds of the young begin to be impressed with that which is commercial and sordid.”

If anything, Christmas (Saturnalia) can bring heightened emotions, stress, arguments, loneliness, drunkenness, suicide and the overpowering need to ‘keep on with the programme’ called Christmas. ‘Boxing Day’ in the UK can take on a very literal meaning for some. I know Christmas also brings laughter, love and hapiness too, which is why it has ‘two sides’. Christmas shopping, Black Friday’s, the sales, buying things and maxing up debt has become the norm for people that have ‘bought into’ the vibe of modern Saturnalia. When I was a kid people used to stock up on food at Christmas like there was going to be a war? Bread was frozen in quanties across homes all over Britain in the 80’s as though there was going to be a famine (the shops really did close for days back then). To understand the Christmas ‘vibe’ we have to go back in time to ancient Rome....<<<Read More>>...