Students celebrate ancient Roman holiday

Hadley Hoskins
Editor-in-Chief

Students brought in a variety of food to commemorate this year’s Saturnalia celebration on Dec. 15. Photo by Hadley Hoskins

Saturnalia, the Roman celebration of the harvest, is the last holiday students would be expected to celebrate at school– but for those who take Latin, it’s been a December staple for the last 20 years.

Traditionally, the ancient Romans celebrated the holiday for a week straight (usually at the time of the Winter Solstice) with non-stop feasting, gambling and drinking. Social classes went away, and schools and courts closed for the celebration. While it is named after the Roman God Saturn, the holiday isn’t religious.

“It would be like a county fair, cranked to 11,” Latin teacher Jeff Smith explained.

Now, over 2,000 years later, Saturnalia looks different. It’s celebrated for just one day a year to teach students about Roman culture. Desks are pushed against the walls and covered in all kinds of food, ranging from muffins to casseroles, and students can eat while they learn about the holiday.

“At the start, when it was small, I would go to the hill and get some of the finest meats and cheeses. A lot of the kids didn’t know about some Italian stuff, like prosciutto and coppa, but now it’s kind of like a giant pot luck,” Smith said.

Students can also participate in “Secret Saturn,” an optional gift exchange, inspired by the Roman tradition of exchanging miniature candles.

Smith explained the gifts are small, nonserious, and capped at $5. “You get all kinds of fun gifts– usually light hearted. Matt Lehman, our current FACS teacher, made me a holster one year… another year someone got me a giant roast. They took it out of their freezer on the way to school, and it was a mystery package of meat wrapped up in butcher paper,” Smith said.

The celebration also includes education about Roman culture through a slideshow, which Smith teaches throughout the day.

“In Spanish they learn about Hispanic culture and in French they learn about Gallic cultures… it goes with the class, for students to learn about the Romans and their contributions and their culture,” Smith explained about the importance of students learning about Roman culture.