Saturnalia and Yule

December 17th through the 23rd is the ancient Roman Pagan festival season as Saturnalia. And December 21st, the winter solstice, is Yule for the Germanic Pagans of Northern Europe. While Saturnalia and Yule have festive elements, both have dark aspects.

Saturnalia was a Roman festival dedicated to the god Saturn as evidenced by the name. Saturnalia began with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn and was followed by a public banquet, private gift-giving, gambling, and a week-long party resembling the modern Carnival or Mardi Gras. The poet Catullus called it “the best of days.”

However, Saturn was a complex god with chthonic aspects. Saturn was connected to the underworld, with 3rd-century sources recording that the bodies of dead gladiators were offered to Saturn during Saturnalia. There’s further evidence of Saturn’s chthonic nature in an Estrucian artifact that may bear his name. This artifact places Saturn in the north, a direction associated with the realm of the dead. Saturn ruled over winter lightning, unlike Jupiter, who ruled the lightning of Summer storms.

Yule was a winter solstice festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples. For the Yule festival, locals would assemble at the temple. They would bring food, ale, and livestock for sacrifice. The priest would splatter the blood of the sacrificed animals over the altars, walls of the temple, themselves, and the locals. They would toast to the god Odin. The Yule festival lasted for three days. 

The Germanic people believed that a supernatural event called the Wild Hunt occurred during Yule. In the Wild Hunt, the god Odin would fly through the night with an army of undead warriors. If someone was unlucky enough to be outside at just the wrong time, they could be swept up, transported far away, or killed.

So enjoy Saturnalia or Yule (or, like me, both). Go ahead and party like it 99 B.C.E. But remember to watch your back, for it's not all fun and games.