Editing Religious festival (section)

== Ancient Roman ==
{{Main|Roman festivals}}
[[Image:Compitalia fresco.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Roman men thought to be participating in the [[Compitalia]] festival, in a wall painting from [[Pompeii]]]]

Festivals ''(feriae)'' were an important part of [[religion in ancient Rome|Roman religious life]] during both the [[Roman Republic|Republican]] and [[Roman Empire|Imperial eras]], and were one of the primary features of the [[Roman calendar]]. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days") were either public ''(publicae)'' or private ''([[privatus|privatae]])''. State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. ''Feriae privatae'' were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families.<ref>[[H.H. Scullard]], ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'' (Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 38–39.</ref>

The 1st-century BC scholar [[Varro]] defined ''feriae'' as "days instituted for the sake of the gods."<ref>Varro, ''De lingua Latina'' 6.12 ''(dies deorum causa instituti'', as cited by Scullard, p. 39, noting also the phrase ''dis dedicati'', "dedicated to the gods," in [[Macrobius]], ''Saturnalia'' 1.16.2.</ref> A deity's festival often marked the anniversary (''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#dies natalis|dies natalis]],'' "birthday") of the founding of the deity's temple, or a rededication after a major renovation.<ref>[[Hendrik Wagenvoort]], "Initia Cereris," in ''Studies in Roman Literature, Culture and Religion'' (Brill, 1956), pp. 163–164.</ref> Public business was suspended for the performance of religious rites on the ''feriae''. [[Cicero]] says that people who were free should not engage in lawsuits and quarrels, and [[slavery in ancient Rome|slaves]] should get a break from their labors.<ref>Cicero, ''De legibus'' 2.29, as cited by Scullard, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic,'' p. 39.</ref> On calendars of the Republic and early Empire, the [[Roman calendar#Character of the day|religious status days]] were marked by letters such as ''F'' (for ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#fasti|fastus]])'', and ''N'' (for ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#nefastus|nefastus]]'', when political activities and the administration of justice were prohibited). By the late 2nd century AD, extant calendars no longer show these letters, probably as a result of calendar reforms undertaken by [[Marcus Aurelius]] that recognized the changed religious environment of the empire.<ref>Michele Renee Salzman, ''On Roman Time: The Codex Calendar of 354 and the Rhythms of Urban Life in Late Antiquity'' (University of California Press, 1990), pp. 17, 178.</ref>

[[File:Fasti Praenestini Massimo n2.jpg|thumb|A fragment of the ''[[Fasti Praenestini]]'' for April ''([[Aprilis]]''), with the festivals of [[Vinalia]] ''(VIN)'' and [[Robigalia]] ''(ROB)'' marked in capital letters]]
On surviving Roman calendars, festivals that appear in large capital letters (such as the [[Lupercalia]] and [[Parilia]]) are thought to have been the most ancient holidays, becoming part of the calendar before 509 BC.<ref>Scullard,  ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'', p. 41.</ref> Some of the oldest festivals are not named for deities.<ref>Wagenvoort, "Initia Cereris," pp. 163–164.</ref> During the [[Roman Empire|Imperial period]], several traditional festivals localized at Rome became less important, and the birthdays and anniversaries of the emperor and his family gained prominence as Roman holidays. Games ''([[ludi]])'', such as the [[Ludi Apollinares]], were often dedicated to particular deities, but were not technically ''feriae'', although they might be holidays in the modern sense of days off work ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#festus|dies festi]])''.  After the mid-1st century AD, there were more frequent [[Roman Empire#Recreation and spectacles|spectacles and games]] ''([[ludi circenses|circenses]])'' held in the venue called a "[[circus (building)|circus]]", in honor of various deities or for imperial anniversaries ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#dies imperii|dies Augusti]])''. A religious festival held on a single day, such as the [[Floralia]], might be expanded with games over multiple days ''(Ludi Florae)''; the festival of [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]] is seen as a precursor of [[May Day]] festivities.<ref>Salzman, ''On Roman Time,'' pp. 17, 120ff., 178; entry on "Bacchanalia and Saturnalia," in ''The Classical Tradition'', edited by [[Anthony Grafton]], [[Glenn W. Most]], and Salvatore Settis (Harvard University Press, 2010), p. 116.</ref>

A major source for Roman holidays is [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', a poem that describes and provides origins for festivals from [[Ianuarius|January]] to [[Iunius (month)|June]] at the time of [[Augustus]]. Because it ends with June, less is known about Roman festivals in the second half of the year, with the exception of the [[Saturnalia]], a religious festival in honor of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] on December 17 that expanded with celebrations through December 23. Probably the best-known Roman festival, some of its customs, such as gift-giving and the prevalence of candles, are thought to have influenced popular celebrations of [[Christmas]].<ref>[[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]], J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price, ''Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998), vol. 2, p. 124; Craig A. Williams, ''Martial: Epigrams Book Two'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 259 (on the custom of gift-giving); entry on "Bacchanalia and Saturnalia," in ''The Classical Tradition'', p. 116; C. Bennet Pascal, "October Horse," ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'' 85 (1981), p. 289.</ref>