Copyright © 2005 Jonathan Dee It might be a surprise, but all those stories about ancient Roman orgies come from their version of the Xmas Holiday, which the Romans called Saturnalia. This was a festival in honour of the god Saturn, who has a bit of a mixed reputation, being the god of time, old age and respectability. It hardly seems a good excuse to let your hair down, especially in a decadent Roman fashion. I can’t deny that it was a bit naughty, with all sorts of peculiar goings on, like men dressed as women, women dressed as men, masters being slaves to their servants and a lot of drunken debauchery. It sounds a bit like the origins of pantomime to me, but apart from principal boys, and dames, there are certain Saturnalian customs that have come down to us in one of the most conservative aspects of our society, the military mind! For years now it has been the custom for officers and men to sort of change places on Xmas Day. Instead of the more usual military hierarchy, the brass will serve the common soldier their Xmas dinner. It’s all good-humoured, of course, and only for one day of the year. Probably a good thing.... well, we do have to think of the empire! |
