Beware the Ides of March!

The Ides of March - holiday of backstabbers!

"Confronted by a ring of drawn daggers, he drew the top of his gown over his face, and at the same time ungirded the lower part, letting it falls to his feet so that he would die with both legs decently covered. Twenty-three dagger thrusts went home as he stood there. Caesar did not utter a sound after Casca's blow had drawn a groan from him; though some say that when he saw Marcus Brutus about to deliver the second blow, he reproached him in Greek with: 'You, too, my child?'" - Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Julius Caesar 82.

One of the most famous stories in history. Julius Caesar, tyrant or saviour of Rome, depending on how you look at it, is struck down in the Roman Senate. Although, the real Senate House (Curia) was under construction at the time, with one of Caesar's beautification projects. So he wasn't struck down in the official Senate building. The best part of the story, though, is the famous line "Et tu, Brute?" from Shakespeare. Caesar is willing to die without complaint, but the one blow he can't take is that Brutus, who he thought of as a son, has betrayed him.

I'll act on my love like Pontius Pilate
I'll give you my love like I was Brutus
I'll radiate love like Three Mile Island
I'll prove you my love like I was Judas
-ThouShaltNot

Io, Saturnalia!

Saturnalia is the Roman midwinter festival, dedicated to the god Saturn, the father of the gods and therefore arguably the most important festival in Rome. It's celebrated from December 17th to the 23rd and included public rites and ceremony and lots of gambling - but most importantly a reversal of social order. For this week in December slaves and their masters essentially switched places. Plebians could pretend to be patricians, and patricians could slum it as plebians. This was the only week that a slave would be invited to speak their mind (as in Plutarch).

The lewd nature of such a festival led to many attempts to outlaw or shorten it (by the piety-obsessed Augustus and the hypocritical Caligula) to no avail.

This is also often attributed as the reason why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. Previously, the church had marked January 6th as the birth of Jesus. It was changed to December 25th in the fourth century because the pagan converts were already used to celebrating a midwinter festival (in the Empire, mostly Saturnalia but in the outer Provinces like Britain and Gaul the Winter Solstice) around that time. The longest night of the year, December 21st, is customarily celebrated with the use of light and fire. During Saturnalia it was custom to exchange gifts (which were often candles).

So, instead of Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings - why not "Io, Saturnalia"? (Pronounced yo, Sah-tur-na-lia).