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tragedies also debuted at this festival as an act of worship of Dionysus who was believed to be present at the performances.The ancient Romans continued the tradition in the formof Bacchanalia, a festival named for Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and pleasure. Originally, Bacchanalia was celebrated for three days during the early spring to mark the beginning of a new planting season, and only women celebrated it. The festivities were marked by large amounts of wine consumption, song, and dance. Over time men were included in the celebration and soon the frequency of the festivals increased to up to five times a month. People began celebrating in seasons other than the spring. Eventually Bacchanalia celebrations became so rowdy that the Roman Senate had to outlaw them. Today the word bacchanalia has come to mean any boisterous celebration marked by overindulgence in food or drink. Saturnalia The Romans also celebrated the festival of Saturnalia every year in honor of the god of agriculture, Saturn. Many of the traditions of Saturnalia were incorporated over time into both Christmas and Carnival, including the exchange of gifts and the ritual of a triumphal procession through the city streets. In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far North, Saturnalia celebrations began in the week leading up to the winter solstice (around December 16) and continued for a full month, with much eating, drinking, and mischief. Practices normally forbidden in Roman society, such as public gambling, were permitted during Saturnalia. The celebration intentionally turned Roman society hierarchies upside-down. For a month slaves were masters (slavery was common in the Roman Empire) and peasants controlled the city. Hedonism (the philosophy that the greatest good lies in the pursuit of pleasure) characterized the entire festival. Lupercalia Another ancient Roman festival that may have contributed to Carnival was Lupercalia, a festival held on February 15 celebrating the Roman god Lupercus, a deity who guarded the shepherds and their flocks protecting them from wolves. He is often associated with Faunus, the Roman god of fertility and the woodlands. Faunus was believed to be the grandson of Saturn. (Most people are familiar with his Greek counterpart, Pan, a god who is usually pictured as having the legs and horns of a goat and playing a panpipe.) Faunus was associated with merriment and revelry; and noise, high spirits, and lack of restraint characterized festivals held in his honor. Special priests called Luperci oversaw the festival of Lupercalia. They offered sacrifices of two goats and a dog to

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