Today is the first day of Saturnalia, the ancient Roman holiday that I have made a tradition of celebrating on this blog (see here and here ). The Encyclopedia Romana describes Saturnalia as follows: During the holiday, restrictions were relaxed and the social order inverted. Gambling was allowed in public. Slaves were permitted to use dice and did not have to work. . . Within the family, a Lord of Misrule was chosen. Slaves were treated as equals, allowed to wear their masters’ clothing, and be waited on at meal time in remembrance of an earlier golden age thought to have been ushered in by the god. In the Saturnalia, Lucian relates that “During My week the serious is barred; no business allowed.

See original here:
Happy Saturnalia!