Show notes
Please be aware the stories, theories, re-enactments and language in this podcast are of an adult nature and can be disturbing, frightening and in some cases offensive. Listener Discretion is advised – there is very adult content ahead and you have been warned.
Welcome heathens welcome to the world of the weird and unexplained. I’m your host, Nicole Delacroix and together, we will be investigating stories about the weird, wonderful, unexplained, eerie, scary and down-right unbelievable. There will be tales of ghosts, murder, supernatural beings and unexplained mysteries. So, sit back, grab your favorite drink, relax and prepare to be transported to today's dark Enigma....
And on today’s Dark enigma we’re still trying to make the most of this holiday season. So, with that said, we will still be playing our drinking game and as you know, the drinking game is only for those of us that are at home and have nowhere else to go tonight. The choice of libation is yours, so choose your poison accordingly, and absolutely no Egg Nog, that crap is gross, there I said it… Alright, now for the game part how about every time I say Festival that will be a single shot and every time I say Rome, that will be a double shot. Now that the business end is out of the way we can jump headfirst into today’s dark enigma… and celebrate the December Festival of Joy and Merriment from Ancient Rome… that’s right, we’re talking Saturnalia!
That’s right my darling heathens, we are exploring Saturnalia, that badass ancient Roman precursor to Christmas. So let’s start at the beginning, what the hell is Saturnalia anyway?
Saturnalia was basically like the best holiday party you’ve ever been to, times a million. It was actually kind of similar to the Purge, except instead of everyone going nuts and murdering each other, they abandoned social order to drink and make merry. Originally, this celebration was held annually for a day on the 17th of December, but the festival was so popular that it was extended to a week December 17-23. Despite efforts to reduce the length of the celebration Emperor Augustus tried to reduce it to three days, whilst Caligula attempted to cut it to five – those bastards – the celebration of Saturnalia remained a weeklong event.
This was a period when the Romans indulged in excessive joy and merriment. As Sir James Frazer puts it in his work, The Golden Bough, it was a time “when the darker passions find a vent which would never be allowed them in the more staid and sober course of ordinary life.” And, while we don’t necessarily celebrate Christmas with wine-induced orgies, we have carried over a lot of Saturnalia’s traditions into modern day. The Roman poet Catullus described Saturnalia as “the best of times” — he didn’t even have to offer a caveat, like the Christmas-obsessed Charles Dickens did in Great Expectations. Saturnalia was just straight-up awesome.
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