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Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part of Roman religious life during both the and , and one of the primary features of the . Feriae ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singular also feriae or dies ferialis) were either public (publicae) or private (). State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games (), such as the , were not technically feriae, but the days on which they were celebrated were dies festi, holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families.H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 38–39. This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods, families, and friends held simultaneously throughout Rome.

Feriae publicae were of three kinds:

  • Stativae were annual holidays that held a fixed or stable date on the calendar.
  • Conceptivae were annual holidays that were (like on the Christian calendar, or in North America); the date was announced by the magistrates or priests who were responsible for them.
  • Imperativae were holidays held "on demand" (from the verb impero, imperare, "to order, command") when special celebrations or expiations were called for.Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 39.

One of the most important sources for Roman holidays is 's Fasti, an incomplete poem that describes and provides origins for festivals from January to June at the time of .

Keeping the feriae
defined feriae as "days instituted for the sake of the gods."Varro, De lingua latina 6.12 (dies deorum causa instituti, as cited by Scullard, p. 39, noting also the phrase dis dedicati, "dedicated to the gods," in , Saturnalia 1.16.2. Religious rites were performed on the feriae, and public business was suspended. Even slaves were supposed to be given some form of rest. says specifically that people who were free should not engage in lawsuits and quarrels, and slaves should get a break from their labours.Cicero, De legibus 2.29, as cited by Scullard, p. 39. Agricultural writers recognized that some jobs on a farm might still need to be performed, and specified what these were. Some agricultural tasks not otherwise permitted could be carried out if an expiation were made in advance (), usually the sacrifice of a puppy.Cato the Elder, De agricultura 138; 2.21.2; Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 39. Within the city of Rome, the and the priest known as the were not allowed even to see work done.

On a practical level, those who "inadvertently" worked could pay a fine or offer up a piaculum, usually a pig. Work considered vital either to the gods or preserving human life was excusable, according to some experts on religious law. Although Romans were required not to work, they were not required to take any religious action unless they were priests or had family rites () to maintain.Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, pp. 39–40.

List of festivals by month
Following is a month-by-month list of Roman festivals and games that had a fixed place on the calendar. For some, the date on which they were first established is recorded. A deity's festival often marks the anniversary ( dies natalis, "birthday") of the founding of a temple, or a rededication after a major renovation. Festivals not named for deities are thought to be among the oldest on the calendar.Hendrik Wagenvoort, "Initia Cereris," in Studies in Roman Literature, Culture and Religion (Brill, 1956), pp. 163–164.

Some religious observances were monthly. The first day of the month was the (or Calends, from which the English word "calendar" derives). Each Kalends was sacred to Juno, and the ("Queen of the Rites," a public priestess) marked the day by presiding over a sacrifice to the goddess.Emily A. Hemelrijk, "Women and Sacrifice in the Roman Empire," in Ritual Dynamics and Religious Change in the Roman Empire. Proceedings of the Eighth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Heidelberg, July 5–7, 2007) (Brill, 2009), pp. 258–259, citing , Saturnalia 1.15.19. Originally a pontiff and the reported the sighting of the , and the pontiff announced whether the Nones occurred on the 5th or 7th of that month. On the Nones, announcements were made regarding events to take place that month; with the exception of the , no major festivals were held before the Nones, though other ceremonies, such as anniversaries of temple dedications, might be carried out. The Ides (usually the 13th, or in a few months the 15th) were sacred to Jupiter. On each Ides, a white lamb was led along the to the for sacrifice to Jupiter.

The list also includes other notable public religious events such as sacrifices and processions that were observed annually but are neither feriae nor dies natales. Unless otherwise noted, the calendar is that of H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic.

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  • 1 (): From 153 BC onward, entered office on this date, accompanied by vota publica (public vows for the wellbeing of the republic and later of the emperor) and the taking of . Festivals were also held for the imported cult of and for the obscure god .Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, pp. 52–58.
  • 3-5: most common dates for , a movable feast (feriae conceptivae)
  • 5 (Nones): Dies natalis (founding day) of the shrine of on the Recorded only in the .
  • 9: in honor of Janus, after whom the month January is named; first of at least four festivals named Agonalia throughout the year
  • 11 and 15: , with celebrated also on the 11th
  • 13 (Ides)
  • 24–26: most common dates for the , a feriae conceptivae of sowing, perhaps also known as the Paganalia as celebrated by the
  • 27: Dies natalis of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, or perhaps marking its rededication (see also July 15); Ludi Castores ("Games of the Castors") celebrated at during the Imperial period

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In the archaic Roman calendar, February was the last month of the year. The name derives from februa, "the means of purification, expiatory offerings." It marked a turn of season, with February 5 the official first day of spring bringing the renewal of agricultural activities after winter.Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, pp. 70–71.
  • 1 (Kalends): Dies natalis for the Temple of Juno Sospita, Mother and Queen; sacra at the Grove of Alernus, near the at the foot of the
  • 5: Dies natalis for the Temple of Concord on the
  • 13 (Ides): minor festival of on the
  • 13–22: , a commemoration of ancestors and the dead among families
    • 13: Parentatio, with appeasement of the beginning at the 6th hour and ceremonies performed by the chief ; temples were closed, no fires burned on altars, marriages were forbidden, magistrates took off their insignia, until the 21st
  • 15:
  • 17: last day of the feriae conceptivae , the Oven Festival; , in honour of
  • 21: , the only public observation of the Parentalia, marked F (dies festus) in some calendars and FP (a designation of uncertain meaning) in others, with dark rites aimed at the gods below ()
  • 22: (or Cara Cognatio, "Dear Kindred"), a potluck meal provided by all the family, and shared in a spirit of love and forgiveness
  • 23: Terminalia, in honour of Terminus
  • 24:
  • 27: , first of two horse-racing festivals to Mars

Martius
In the old Roman calendar (until perhaps as late as 153 BC), the mensis Martius ("Mars' Month") was the first month of the year. It is one of the few months to be named for a god, Mars, whose festivals dominate the month.
  • 1 (Kalends): the original New Year's Day when the sacred fire of Rome was renewed; the dancing armed priesthood of the celebrated the Feriae Marti (holiday for Mars), which was also the dies natalis ("birthday") of Mars; also the , in honor of Juno Lucina, Mars' mother
  • 7: a second festival for Vediovis
  • 9: a dies religiosus when the Salii carried the sacred shields () around the city again
  • 14: the second , a Feriae Marti also called the or sacrum Mamurio
  • 15 (Ides): Feriae Iovi, sacred to , and also the feast of the year goddess
  • 16–17: the procession of the
  • 17: , in honour of ; also an Agonalia for Mars
  • 19: , later expanded into a five-day holiday as Quinquatria, a Feriae Marti, but also a feast day for , possibly because her temple on the was dedicated on this day
  • 23: , purification of the trumpets.
  • 24: a day marked QRCF, when the met to sanction wills
  • 25: , A two-weeks long festival commemorating 's lamentation (fasting, castigation, taurobolium, festoonment, washing) of the death and rejoicing of at the resurrection of her mortal lover .
  • 31: anniversary of the Temple of Luna on the Aventine

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A major feriae conceptivae in April was the .
  • 1 (Kalends): in honour of Venus
  • 4–10: or Megalesia, in honor of the or , whose temple was dedicated April 10, 191 BC
  • 5: anniversary of the Temple of Fortuna Publica
  • 12–19: or Ludi Cereri, festival and games for Ceres, established by 202 BC
  • 13 (Ides): anniversary of the Temple of Jupiter Victor
  • 15: , offering of a pregnant cow to ("Earth")
  • 21: , rustic festival in honour of , and the dies natalis of Rome
  • 21: Dies Romana, a festival linked to the foundation of Rome., - Life of Romulus, 12.2 (from ) According to , is said to have founded the city of on April 21, 753 BC. From this date, the Roman chronology derived its system, known by the phrase Ab Urbe condita, meaning "from the founding of the City", which counted the years from this presumed foundation.
  • 23: the first of two wine festivals (), the Vinalia Priora for the previous year's wine, held originally for Jupiter and later Venus
  • 25: , an agricultural festival involving dog sacrifice
  • 27 (28 in the ) to May 1: in honour of Flora, extended to May 3 under the Empire

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The feriae conceptivae of this month was the .
  • 1 (Kalends): Games of Flora continue; sacrifice to Maia; anniversary of the Temple of Bona Dea on the Aventine; rites for the , of the city of Rome
  • 3: in the Imperial period, a last celebration for Flora, or the anniversary of one of her temples
  • 9, 11, 13: Lemuria, a festival of the dead with both public and household rites, possibly with a sacrifice to Mania on the 11th
  • 14: anniversary of the Temple of Mars Invictus (Mars the Unconquered); a second procession of the Alternatively dated to May 15.
  • 15 (Ides): , in honor of Mercury; Feriae of Jove
  • 21: one of four , probably a third festival for Vediovis
  • 23: a second ; Feriae for
  • 24: , following Tubilustrium as in March
  • 25: anniversary of the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia

Iunius
Scullard places the on June 25–26,Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 156. but other scholars doubt these ludi had a fixed date or recurred on a regular basis.John H. Humphrey, Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing (University of California Press, 1986), p. 543; Robert Turcan, The Gods of Ancient Rome (Edinburgh University Press, 2000), p. 82.
  • 1 (Kalends): anniversaries of the Temple of Juno Moneta; of the Temple of Mars on the clivus (slope, street) outside the ; and possibly of the Temple of the (storm goddesses); also a festival of the complex goddess
  • 3: anniversary of the Temple of Bellona
  • 4: anniversary of the restoration of the Temple of Hercules Custos
  • 5: anniversary of the Temple of
  • 7: , "Fishermen's Games"
  • 7–15: , in honour of Vesta; June 9 was a dies religiosus to her
  • 8: anniversary of the Temple of
  • 11: in honour of ; also the anniversary of the Temple of Fortuna in the
  • 13 (Ides): Feriae of Jove
  • 13–15: Quinquatrus minusculae, the lesser celebrated by , flute-players in their role as accompanists to religious ceremonies
  • 19: a commemoration involving the Temple of Minerva on the Aventine, which had its anniversary March 19
  • 20: anniversary of the Temple of
  • 24: festival of , which "seems to have been a rowdy affair"Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 155.
  • 27: poorly attested observance in honour of the ; anniversary of the Temple of Jupiter Stator
  • 29: anniversary of the Temple of Hercules Musarum, Hercules of the Muses

Iulius ([[Quinctilis/" itemprop="url" title="Wiki: Quintilis">Quintilis)
Until renamed for , this month was called Quinctilis or , originally the fifth month (quint-) when the year began in March. From this point in the calendar forward, the months had numerical designations.
  • 1 (Kalends): a scarcely attested anniversary of a temple to Juno Felicitas
  • 5:
  • 6–13: , games in honour of , first held in 212 BC as a one-day event (July 13) and established as annual in 208 BC.
  • 6: anniversary of the Temple of Fortuna Muliebris
  • 7 (Nones): ; Ancillarum Feriae (Festival of the Serving Women);Recorded only by . sacrifice to by unspecified public priests (sacerdotes publici); also a minor festival to the two
  • 8:
  • 14–19: a series of markets or fairs (mercatus) following the Ludi Apollinares; not religious holidays
  • 15 (Ides): Transvectio equitum, a procession of cavalry
  • 17: anniversary of the Temple of Honos and Virtus; sacrifice to Victory
  • 18: a dies ater ("black day," meaning a day of ill omen) marking the defeat of the Romans by the at the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC, leading to the sack of Rome by the Gauls
  • 19, 21:
  • 20–30: Ludi Victoriae Caesaris, "Games of the Victorious Caesar", held annually from 45 BC
  • 22: anniversary of the Temple of Concordia at the foot of the Capitol
  • 23: held in honour of Neptune
  • 25: , feriae publicae in honour of
  • 30: anniversary of the Temple of the Fortune of This Day (Fortunae Huiusque Diei)

[[Augustus (Sextilis)/" itemprop="url" title="Wiki: Sextilis">Sextilis
Until renamed for , this month was called Sextilis, originally the sixth month (sext-) when the year began in March.
  • 1 (Kalends): anniversary of the Temple of (Hope) in the , with commemorations also for the "two Victories" on the Palatine
  • 3: ("punishment of the dogs") an unusual dog sacrifice and procession at the temples of Iuventas ("Youth") and Summanus, connected to the Gallic siege
  • 5: public sacrifice (sacrificium publicum) at the Temple of on the Quirinal
  • 9: public sacrifice to
  • 12: sacrifice of a heifer to Hercules Invictus, with a libation from the of Hercules
  • 13 (Ides): festival of Diana on the Aventine (), with slaves given the day off to attend; other deities honored at their temples include , Fortuna Equestris, Hercules Victor (or Invictus at the ), Castor and Pollux, the , and Flora
  • 17: in honour of Portunus; anniversary of the Temple of Janus
  • 19: , originally in honour of Jupiter, but later Venus
  • 21: , with a sacrifice on the Aventine
  • 23: or Feriae Volcano in honour of Vulcan, along with sacrifices to Maia, the in campo ("in the field", perhaps the ), Ops Opifera, and a Hora
  • 24: sacrifices to Luna on the ; and the first of three days when the mysterious ritual pit called the was opened
  • 25: or Feriae Opi in honour of Ops Consivae at the
  • 27: , when the made a sacrifice to
  • 28: Games at the () for Sol and Luna

September
  • 1 (Kalends): ceremonies for Jupiter Tonans ("the Thunderer") on the Capitolium, and Juno Regina on the Aventine
  • 5: anniversary of one of the temples to Jupiter Stator
  • 5–19, or Ludi Magni, "the oldest and most famous" of the ludiScullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 183.
  • 13 (Ides): anniversary of the Temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus; an ; an epulum to the
  • 14: Equorum probatio ("Approval of the Horses"), a cavalry parade of the Imperial period
  • 20–23: days set aside for markets and fairs (mercatus) immediately following the Ludi Romani
  • 23: anniversary of the rededication of the Temple of Apollo in the Campus Martius; was also honored
  • 26: anniversary of the Temple of Venus Genetrix vowed by Julius Caesar

October
  • 1 (Kalends): ceremonies for Fides and the Tigillum Sororium
  • 3–12: Ludi Augustales, established 14 AD after the death of , based on the Matthew Bunson, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire (Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 246–247; Roland Auguet, Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games (Routledge, 1972, 1994) pp. 212–213.
  • 4: , a day of in honour of Ceres, instituted in 191 BC as a observance, made annual by
  • 5: second of the three days when the was opened
  • 6: dies ater ("black day") to mark the anniversary of the battle of Arausio (105 BC)
  • 7 (Nones): rites for Jupiter Fulgur (Jupiter of daytime lightning) and Juno Curitis
  • 9: rites at shrines for the , Fausta Felicitas, and Venus Victrix on the Capitolium
  • 10: ceremonies to mark a rededication of the Temple of Juno Moneta
  • 11:
  • 12: , celebrated from 14 AD in honour of the divinized , established in 19 BC with a new altar and sacrifice to , "To Honour the Princeps and Venerate the Gods: Public Cult, Neighbourhood Cults, and Imperial Cult in Augustan Rome," translated by Jonathan Edmondson, in Augustus (Edinburgh University Press, 2009), pp. 288–290.
  • 13: in honour of
  • 14: ceremonies to mark a restoration of the Temple of the on the
  • 15 (Ides): sacrifice to Mars in the ; also Feriae of Jupiter
  • 19: , a dies religiosus in honour of Mars
  • 26 to November 1: Ludi Victoriae Sullanae, "Victory Games of Sulla", established as an annual event in 81 BC

November
  • 1 (Kalends): to close the Sullan Victory Games
  • 4–17:
  • 8: third of the three days when the mundus ritual pit was opened
  • 13 (Ides): ; also ceremonies for Feronia and Fortuna Primigeniae
  • 14: a second Equorum probatio (cavalry parade), as on July 15
  • 18–20: markets and fairs (mercatus)
  • 24-30: /ref>

December
  • 1-17: (continued from November)
  • 3: rites for women only
  • 5 (Nones): a country festival for held by the
  • 8: festival for and Gaia
  • 11: for ; also the (probably unrelated)
  • 12: ceremonies at the Temple of Consus on the Aventine
  • 13 (Ides): dies natalis of the Temple of Tellus, and associated for Ceres
  • 15: or Feriae for Consus, the second of the year
  • 17–23: in honour of Saturn, with the public ritual on the 17th
  • 18 Eponalia in honor of
  • 19: in honor of
  • 21: in honor of ; Hercules and Ceres also received a sacrifice
  • 22: anniversary of the Temple of the Lares Permarini in the
  • 23: ; commemorations for the temples of Diana and Juno Regina in the , and for the ; Sigillaria, the last day of the Saturnalia, devoted to gift-giving
  • 25: Dies Natalis Solis Invicti ("Birthday of the Unconquered Sun")

Feriae conceptivae
The following "moveable feasts" are listed roughly in chronological order.
  • , held sometime between December 17 (the Saturnalia) and January 5; in the later Empire, they were regularly held January 3–5, but Macrobius (5th century AD) still categorized them as conceptivae.Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 58.
  • , a festival of sowing honoring Tellus and Ceres, placed on January 24–26 by Ovid, who regards these feriae as the same as Paganalia; Varro may indicate that the two were separate festivals.Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic, p. 68.
  • , a mid-February baking festival celebrated by the curiae, the 30 archaic divisions of the Roman people; the date was announced by the and set for each curia individually, with a general Fornacalia on February 17 for those who had missed their own or who were uncertain to which curia they belonged.
  • , a ceremony to purify the city (urbs) as a whole, perhaps held sometime in February.
  • (Latin Festival), a major and very old conceptivae in April.
  • , purification of the fields in May.
The Rosalia or "Festival of Roses" also had no fixed date, but was technically not one of the feriae conceptivae with a date announced by public priests based on archaic practice.

Feriae imperativae
Festivals were also held in ancient Rome in response to particular events, or for a particular purpose such as to propitiate or show gratitude toward the gods. For example, reports that following the Roman destruction of in the 7th century BC, and the removal of the Alban populace to Rome, it was reported to have rained stones on the . A Roman deputation was sent to investigate the report, and a further shower of stones was witnessed. The Romans took this to be a sign of the displeasure of the Alban gods, the worship of whom had been abandoned with the evacuation of Alba Longa. Livy goes on to say that the Romans instituted a public festival of nine days, at the instigation either of a 'heavenly voice' heard on the Mons Albanus, or of the . Livy also says that it became the longstanding practice in Rome that whenever a shower of stones was reported, a festival of nine days would be ordered in response., Ab urbe condita, 1:31

Another irregular festival of note is the . Over the course of several days there were sacrifices, entertainers, and games hosted by the state, attempting to be the greatest display anyone living had ever seen. These games were intended to be held every 100 years with the purpose of it occurring only once in any individuals lifetime. At one point two cycles of the Secular Games were being held simultaneously, leading there to be people who would in fact witness it twice in their life.

Mercatus
The noun mercatus (plural mercatūs) means "commerce" or "the market" generally, but it also refers to fairs or markets held immediately after certain ludi. said, Republic 2.27. that , the semi-legendary second king of Rome, established mercatus in conjunction with religious festivals to facilitate trade, since people had already gathered in great numbers. In early times, these mercatus may have played a role in wholesale trade, but as commerce in Rome became more sophisticated, by the late Republic they seem to have become retail fairs specialized for the holiday market. The Sigillaria attached to the may have been a mercatus in this sense. Surviving Fasti Antiates]], Fasti Fratrum Arvalium, and the "so-called" = Inscriptiones Italiae XIII.2.377. record Mercatus Apollinares, July 14–19; Mercatus Romani, September 20–23; and Mercatus Plebeii, November 18–20. Others may have existed. The English word "fair" derives from Latin feria.Claire Holleran, Shopping in Ancient Rome: The Retail Trade in the Late Republic and the Principate (Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 189–190, 193.

"Roman holidays" as trope
By the outset of the nineteenth century and particularly in response to the carnage of the latter years of the French revolution, the term "Roman holiday" had taken on sinister aspects, implying an event that occasions enjoyment or profit at the expense, or derived from the suffering, of others, as in this passage about a dying gladiator from Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage:

There were his young barbarians all at play,
There was their Dacian mother—he their sire,
Butchered to make a Roman holiday.""Cruelty". The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation, 2nd edition. Susan Ratcliffe, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002,109-110.

More benignly, the phrase was used as the title of a romantic movie set in Rome, .

See also
  • Spectacles in ancient Rome

Further reading
  • Kaczor, Idaliana (2018). “Characteristics of Roman Female Deities”. In: Studia Ceranea: Journal of the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe Https://doi.org/10.18778/2084-140X.08.02.

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