Saturnalia Explained

Join our Patreon community!:   / religionforbreakfast   One-time donations here!: https://www.paypal.me/religionforbrea... Check out my favorite religious studies books: https://www.amazon.com/shop/religionf... What is Saturnalia? You may have heard of this Roman holiday, but the details are scant and fragmentary from Roman sources. This video explains what we know about Saturnalia and whether or not it influenced the institution of Christmas. Follow me on Twitter: ‪@andrewmarkhenry‬ Facebook:   / religionforbreakfast   PRIMARY SOURCES: Chronographia anni 354 Seneca, "Moral Letters" Lucian, "Saturnalia" Athenaeus, "The Learned Banqueters" Plutarch, "Moralia" Macrobius, "Saturnalia" Martial Suetonius, "Augustus" and "Vespasian" Pliny, "Letters," 4 Historia Augusta, Life of Verus, 7 Justinus "Collection of Memorable Things" Epictetus, "Discourses" Catullus 14 Hippolytus, "Chronograph" and "Commentary on Daniel" Julius Africanus, "Chronograph" Augustine "On the Trinity" On Solstices and Equinoxes SECONDARY SOURCES: Andrew McGowan, "How December 25 Became Christmas," https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/d... C. Philipp E. Nothaft, "Early Christian Chronology and the Origins of the Christmas Date: In Defense of the 'Calculation Theory,'" QL 94 (2013), 247-265. Thomas Schmidt, “Calculating December 25 as the Birth of Jesus in Hippolytus’ Canon and Chronicon,” Vigiliae Christian 69 (2015) 542-563: https://tcschmidtblog.files.wordpress... Fanny Dolansky, "Celebrating the Saturnalia: Religious Ritual and Roman Domestic Life,” Chapter 29 in A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds," 2010. Gaston Halsberghe, Cult of Sol Invictus, Brill 2015.