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What is a Manibus?
In Roman mythology, Manibus refers to the spirits of the dead ancestors who were honored during the festival of Parentalia. They were believed to watch over and protect their living descendants.
What were the ancient Roman festivals?
The Romans had festivals of some sort just about every day. However many of these festivals were minor or in honor of a personal god which the families celebrated privately. The major public festivals were many and encompassed various activities. Some of them are: Saturnalia, Floralia, Lupercalia, Parentalia, Matronia, Ludi Romani, Done Dea, and Opalia. The list is longer. Type "Roman festivals" in your browser and you will get a more comprehensive list from several sites.
What was the pagan festival held in mid-February?
Pagan festivals of February include: Bridget's Day - Feb. 2nd (Ireland) Parentalia Feb 13-21 (Rome) Celebration of Victoria - Feb 16 (Rome) Terminalia - Feb 23 (Rome) Hygeia"s day - Feb 26 (Africa) Kalevala Day - Feb 28 (Finland)
What are 3-5 examples of the customs and traditions of roman society?
Roman society was characterized by various customs and traditions, including the celebration of festivals such as Saturnalia, which honored the god Saturn with feasting and gift-giving. Family and ancestor worship were central, with rituals like the Parentalia, honoring deceased relatives through offerings. Additionally, social gatherings called convivium, or dinner parties, played a crucial role in building social networks and displaying status within the community. Public spectacles, including gladiatorial games and chariot races, were also significant cultural events that reflected the values and entertainment preferences of Roman citizens.
What is considered a Roman holiday?
The Romans were Pagans who celebrated many holidays and festivals. These included Compitalia, a moveable feast, Agonalia, a festival to Janus, God of gates and doorways. Carmentalia, festival to the goddess of childbirth, Carmentis, Ides, a festival to Jupiter, Parentalia, a day of remembrance of the dead and Saturnalia, the celebration of the winter solstice.
What did the Romans call their dead?
The Latin for the dead was mortuus/mortua(masculine/feminine) or silentes. There were also other important qwords which were used for the dead. To the Romans there were three aspects of the dead: the Manes and the Lares who were Chthonic deities and the Lemures, who were deamons. Chthonic deities were subterranean gods; that is gods of the underworld (di inferi)The manes (shades of the dead) or di (gods) manes were the souls of the dead loved ones and represented the ancestors of the family. It is thought that the word originated from an archaic adjective, manus, which meant good. They were honoured in the religious festival Parentalia or dei parentales (ancestral days) which lasted nine days beginning ion 13th February. The manes were given sacred offerings (sacrificia) of flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets at their tombs by their families. The festival was a time of family unity and of symbolising the ties between the living and the dead ancestors. To emphasise the importance of the family to the state, on the opening day there were public ceremonies. The Vestal priestesses conducted a public rite for the collective di manes of the city of Rome.The end of the parentalia was marked by the Feralia on 21st may. Offering were given to the tombs of the dead ancestor consisting of 'wreaths, a sprinkling of grain and a bit of salt, bread soaked in wine and violets scattered about.' (Ovid). It was a day of public mourning and rite of placation and exorcism which seems to have been purification for the Caristia on the following day, when the family had a banquet to celebrate friendship within the family, exchange gifts and to honour their benevolent dead ancestor, the Lares. While dining, the families offered food and incense as their household gods. It was a day of reconciliation and families conflicts were to be put aside.On the Feralia and Caristia marriages were not allowed worship of the gods was banned, the doors of temples were closed and no incense burned no the altars. Ovid said that once, during a war the Romans did not observe the Feralia. The angry spirits rose from their graves, howling and roaming the streets. The Romans then made the offerings to the tombs and these events stopped.The Lares were the benevolent dear ancestors. They were also tutelary gods; that is, gods who provided protection. There were the Lares who were the gods of the household/ family. The Lares could also be gods who protected the neighbourhood and where housed in shrines at crossroads. Roadways, seaways, agriculture, livestock, towns, cities, the state and the army were protected by their particular LlaresThe lemures (singular lemur) were shades or spirits of the evil or vengeful dead. They were the shades of those who were not given a proper funeral or burial and were not honoured by the living. They were vagrant, restless, unsatiated manes who could be vengeful and torment and terrify the living. They name was probably derived from larvae (singular larva; mask). They were shapeless and lurked in the darkness and its dread. The 9th, 11th and 13th of May were days dedicated to their placation by the households in the ritual called Lemuralia or Lemuria. The head of the household got up at midnight and cast black beans behind him with averted gaze. The Lemures were presumed to feast on them. Black was the appropriate colour for offerings to chthonic deities (see below). If these malevolent shades were dissatisfied with this offering, the head of the household could frighten them into flight by the loud banging of bronze pots.
What were some sacred festivals in Ancient Rome?
The Roman calendar was jam-packed with religious festivals. Most of them, but not all, were in honour of the numerous deities of the Romans. The list below is not exhaustive. There were the Compitalia in honour of the Lares Compitales, deities of the crossroads, the Carmentalia in honour of the goddess Carmenta, the Lupercalia in honour of the god Lupercus, the Fornacalia honour of the goddess Fornax, the Quirinalia, in honour of the god Quirinus, Feralia in honour of the Manes (spirits of the dead), , Terminalia, in honour of the god Terminus, Veneralia in honour of the goddess Venus, Cerialia in honour of the goddess Ceres, the Fordicidia in honour of the goddess Telus, the Parilia in honour of Pales, a deity of uncertain gender, the he Robigalia in honour of the god Robigus, Floralia in honour of the goddess Flora, the Mercuralia, in honour of the god Mercury, the Vulcanalia in honour of the god Vulcan, the Matralia in honour of the goddess Mater Matuta, the Fortunalia in honour of the goddess Fortuna, the Neptunalia in honour of the god Neptune, the Furrinalia, in honour of the goddess Furrina, the Portunalia in honour of the god Portunes, the Consualia honour of the god Consus, Volturnalia in honour of the god Volturnus, Fontinalia in honour of the god Fons, the Saturnalia in honour of the god Saturn, the Opalia in honour of the goddess Ops, the Divalia or Angeronalia in honour of the goddess Angerona, There were also two equirria (horse races) in honour of Mars, four agonalia in honour of different gods (Janus, Mars, Vejovis and Jupiter Indiges) the Feriae Iovi ion honour of Jupiter, the Quinquatria or Quinquatrus in honour of the goddess Minerva, and the Megalesia in honour of the goddess Mater Magna (Great Mother), There were festivals not directly connected with deities: the Parentalia in honour of family ancestors, the Caristia or Cara Cognatio celebrated love of family, the Lemuria exorcised malevolent and fearful ghosts, the Meditrinalia in honour of the new wine vintage, the Vinalia prima which blessed and sampled the wine of the previous year and asked for good weather until the next harvest, and the Vinalia rustica was held before the harvest and grape-pressing.
What are the differences between Roman religion and religion today?
Two major differences in the Roman cult was that, like in most ancient religions, it performed sacrifices and divination. Roman rites usually included sacrifices (sacrificia) which were offering to the gods to honour and pacify them. The Romans interpreted natural disasters and epidemics as being caused by the wrath of the gods. Failing to honour them with sacrifices equalled risking to incur their ire. The most potent offering was animal sacrifice (immolatio), typically domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. This sought to harmonise the earthly and divine. The victim had to seem willing to offer its own life on behalf of the community. It had to remain calm and be "delivered" quickly and cleanly. Some archaic rites involved the sacrifice of goats and dogs. The sacrifices to the di superi (gods of the sky) were performed in daylight and publicly. The sacrifice was preceded by a procession and followed by a feast where the meat of the victim was shared. The victim for the di superi had to be white animals of the same sex as the god. The sacrifices for the di terreni (terrestrial, earthly gods) did not involve feasts and sharing of the victim's meat. The sacrifices to the di inferi (gods of the underworld) and the shades of the dead (manes) were performed at night and the victims were burned (holocaust). These victims could not be eaten because the living could not share a meal with the dead. Sometimes these victims were pregnant females. The di superi, terreni and inferi had different types of altars: altaria for the first type, arae for the second and foci (fire pits) for the third. There were also unbloody sacrifices (libatio; i.e., libation). These usually accompanied bloody sacrifices. Cereal and scents mixed with salt were sprinkled over the victims, wine was poured between the horns and incense was burnt. Libations were also performed independently and involved offerings of honey, milk, and other fluids, undiluted or diluted. Incense could also be burnt on altars independently. Fragrant woods (cedar, vine, myrtle-wood) were also burnt on altars independently. Fruit was a thanksgiving offering at harvest time. Cakes were offerings reserved to certain deities- Apollo was one of them. Flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets were offered to the manes (shades of the dead) in the parentalia, a festival in honour of family ancestors. One common part of these rites was the sacrifices (sacrificia) which were offering to the gods to honour and pacify them. The Romans interpreted natural disasters and epidemics as being caused by the wrath of the gods. Failing to honour them with sacrifices equalled risking incurring their ire. The most potent offering was animal sacrifice (immolatio), typically domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. This sought to harmonise the earthly and divine. The victim had to seem willing to offer its own life on behalf of the community. It had to remain calm and be "delivered" quickly and cleanly. Some archaic rites involved the sacrifice of goats and dogs. The sacrifices to the di superi (gods of the sky) were performed in daylight and publicly. The sacrifice was preceded by a procession and followed by a feast where the meat of the victim was shared. The victim for the di superi had to be white animals of the same sex as the god. The sacrifices for the di terreni (terrestrial, earthly gods) did not involve feasts and sharing of the victim's meat. The sacrifices to the di inferi (gods of the underworld) and the shades of the dead (manes) were performed at night and the victims were burned (holocaust). These victims could not be eaten because the living could not share a meal with the dead. Sometimes these victims were pregnant females. The di superi, terreni and inferi had different types of altars: altaria for the first type, arae for the second and foci (fire pits) for the third. There were also unbloody sacrifices (libatio; i.e., libation). These usually accompanied bloody sacrifices. Cereal and scents mixed with salt were sprinkled over the victims, wine was poured between the horns and incense was burnt. Libations were also performed independently and involved offerings of honey, milk, and other fluids, undiluted or diluted. Incense could also be burnt on altars independently. Fragrant woods (cedar, vine, myrtle-wood) were also burnt on altars independently. Fruit was a thanksgiving offering at harvest time. Cakes were offerings reserved to certain deities- Apollo was one of them. Flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets were offered to the manes (shades of the dead) in the parentalia, a festival in honour of family ancestors. Another religious rite was augury. This was the divination of the omen of the gods. For actions which involved the public good or warfare, the Romans believed in consulting the gods to see if they had their approval. Priests called the augurs used signs for the sky, the fight of birds and the behaviour of several animals to interpret the omens. The haruspices, performed the same role, but did so by reading the entrails of animals. The priest would say whether the omens (signs) were good or bad. Good omens suggested the approval of the consulted god. Bad omens suggested disapproval and that the action was not to be undertaken.
How did Romans celebrate the festivals and holidays?
In the Roman year there were 79 religious festivals and a further 35 religious ceremonies (many of them were anniversaries of dedications of temples). Most of the festivals lasted one day, some lasted 2-3 days and a few lasted longer (6,7, 8 (twice), 9, 10 (twice), 11, 14, and 15 days). There were also six games (ludi) which were part of religious festivals and two secular games. Most of these were ludi circenses; that is chariot races (held at the Circus Maximus) or horseback races (held at the Circus Flavius). The word circense referred to the circus, which was the race track. These games also involved other events, such as animal hunts, street theatre, dances and musical performances, acrobatic acts, tightrope walking and feasts. The festivals were dedicated to different gods and had different rites. One common part of these rites was the sacrifices (sacrificia) which were offering to the gods to honour and pacify them. The Romans interpreted natural disasters and epidemics as being caused by the wrath of the gods. Failing to honour them with sacrifices equalled risking incurring their ire. The most potent offering was animal sacrifice (immolatio), typically domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. This sought to harmonise the earthly and divine. The victim had to seem willing to offer its own life on behalf of the community. It had to remain calm and be "delivered" quickly and cleanly. Some archaic rites involved the sacrifice of goats and dogs. The sacrifices to the di superi (gods of the sky) were performed in daylight and publicly. The sacrifice was preceded by a procession and followed by a feast where the meat of the victim was shared. The victim for the di superi had to be white animals of the same sex as the god. The sacrifices for the di terreni (terrestrial, earthly gods) did not involve feasts and sharing of the victim's meat. The sacrifices to the di inferi (gods of the underworld) and the shades of the dead (manes) were performed at night and the victims were burned (Holocaust). These victims could not be eaten because the living could not share a meal with the dead. Sometimes these victims were pregnant females. The di superi, terreni and inferi had different types of altars: altaria for the first type, arae for the second and foci (fire pits) for the third. There were also unbloody sacrifices (libatio; i.e., libation). These usually accompanied bloody sacrifices. Cereal and scents mixed with salt were sprinkled over the victims, wine was poured between the horns and incense was burnt. Libations were also performed independently and involved offerings of honey, milk, and other fluids, undiluted or diluted. Incense could also be burnt on altars independently. Fragrant woods (cedar, vine, myrtle-wood) were also burnt on altars independently. Fruit was a Thanksgiving offering at harvest time. Cakes were offerings reserved to certain deities- Apollo was one of them. Flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets were offered to the manes (shades of the dead) in the parentalia, a festival in honour of family ancestors. Another religious rite was augury. This was the divination of the omen of the gods. For actions which involved the public good or warfare, the Romans believed in consulting the gods to see if they had their approval. Priests called the augurs used signs for the sky, the fight of birds and the behaviour of several animals to interpret the omens. The haruspices, performed the same role, but did so by reading the entrails of animals.
How did Halloween become a day of costumes and candy?
Halloween Come From? All Hallows Eve is actually the base of the origin of the name "Halloween" after the more commonly used phrase "All Hallows Eve" became "All Hallows Even" and then later it was shortened to Halloween in the 16th century. Throughout the years this holiday known as Halloween came to be something of a melting pot of ideas contributed by various cultures and belief systems. Europeans came together and meshed Celtic ideas, Catholic ideas and the Roman religious rituals in to one day of celebration that fell around the time that the Celtic tradition of Samhain fell, the turning of the seasons when the world became a darker place by virtue of the sun's position in the sky. Combining the Celtic idea of Samhain, the Catholic beliefs of All Saints Eve and All Souls Day, and the traditional Roman celebration of Parentalia created the holiday we now know as Halloween. One such example of this is the wearing of costumes and scary masks during the night of Halloween. While many, particularly children, believe that the wearing of costumes is done in order to get candy and the "best" costume is the one that yields the most candy, very few actually understand the roots of wearing a costume on Halloween. Wearing costumes hailed from the Celtic tradition of Samhain and was done to scare away evil spirits that were thought to be able to pass through to our world during a time when the boundary between their world and ours became thinner due to the changing times of sun fall. Among other Halloween traditions that hailed from older cultural traditions are the carving of jack-o-lanterns as mentioned above. Although the Celts used turnips to carve their jack-o-lanterns to scare away spirits because turnips were more readily available, traditionally more modern societies utilize pumpkins due to their availability at the time of the year as well as the fact that they create much larger carving surfaces. Part of the Jack-o-Lantern tradition arises from the fact that during this time of the year harvests are generally brought in and stockpiled to prevent damage from frost and provide food through the winter time. It is likely that since harvests were being brought in around the time of Halloween that the Celts spotted the opportunity to utilize some of their harvest to scare away the spirits that they were so superstitiously afraid of. One of the biggest factors of Halloween that many people often question is the concept of monsters, ghosts and demons. While these factors generally have their roots in the theory of the Celts that evil spirits would cross in to the world during the latter half of the year, Where evil spirits used to be connected with spirituality for the Celts the idea of monsters and ghosts became much more appealing to the societies of today that vary widely in their religious beliefs and cultural traditions. Over the years the idea of Halloween began to focus not on the religious aspect of lost souls and evil spirits but more on the media portrayal of evil spirits, ghosts and monsters. The tradition of scaring away the evil spirits became a tradition of dressing up like the most evil spirit and rather than trying to scare away spirits, today's trick or treaters are more often than not trying to scare each other. Well trick or treating actually dates all the way back to the middle ages. During the middle ages in Ireland and England before All Souls Day poor people would seek money by knocking on the door of the rich and offering prayers for the dead on All Souls Day in return for money or food. It was the combination of this tradition and the Celtic tradition of dressing to ward off evil spirits that resulted in trick or treating. Over the years trick or treating went from being a way to provide sustenance to a family who could not afford food to being a way for children to obtain candy in return for their efforts at dressing in fearful Halloween costumes. It is believed that trick or treating of this sort made its appearance in the 1930's.
When did the Halloween holidays originate?
ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN CUSTOMSThe History Channel has a great Documentary that explains about the origination of Halloween which is a mixture of Celtic and Catholic tradition which began in Europe and was brought to America by the the European immigrants main y the Irish Catholics. This was the end of Summer and Oct 31 became All Hallows Eve which was believed to be a time when spirits roamed around looking for bodies to inhabit. Peoplewere superstitious at that time and believed this so much that they would dress up in costumes to disguise themselves to confuse and frighten spirits away and so they would not be selected by the spirits for "posession" of their bodies. Also animals were believed to be reincarniated from the souls fo the dead. Tradition has changed over the years replacing turnips with pumkins which was something americans chose to do and ruling out all other small animals stickin gwiht the only black cats displaying them in their windows to frighten celebrate Halloween along with spiders not necessarily to frighten off spirits as much as to entertain and frighten young tricker treaters.The term Trick or Treat came from the same religious attempt to protect souls. Women, girls and pesants would go door to door seeking gifts or "soul cakes" to pay penance for their loved ones in purgatory so they could gain passage into heaven through this gift offering. There are numerous other translations of this "trick or treating" story and there are other variations where late on home invasion took place and men would rob the homes of families in Ireland saying "Trick or Treat". The treat was all the money and jewelry they had and the trick was if the family did not give enough to please the bandits they would torture and rape, or even kill the family. The bandits would still get their "treat" and then burn the house down. This is real. If you do your research you will find it. :o) Happy Hunting.
Who are the Roman minor gods?
All the Gods and Goddesses have many myths, legends, and traits that make them fascinating. However, some of the more 'interesting' ones would be considered:HadesZeusPoseidonAthenaApolloArtemisAresHermesHephaestusHeraAphroditeDionysusDemeter
