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In AD 362, the emperor Julian wrote in his Hymn to King Helios that the Agon Solis was held in late December, between the end of the Saturnalia and the New Year. [54] Julian says it is dedicated to Helios and the "Invincible Sun". [55] Most scholars therefore date the festival to December 25 and associate it with the Natalis Solis Invicti. [56]
Since the 12th century, [26] there have been speculations that the near-solstice date of 25 December for Christmas was selected because it was the date of the festival of DIES NATALIS SOLIS INVICTI, but historians of late antiquity make no mention of this, and others speculate Aurelian chose December 25 to shadow early Christian celebrations ...
Sol Invictus#Festival of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti; ... Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply.
The birthday of an individual, or the anniversary of a founding of a temple; see Glossary of ancient Roman religion#dies natalis. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the "birthday" of the Roman solar deity Sol Invictus on December 25; the annual commemoration of a Christian martyr's death; see Calendar of saints; Dies Natalis, a cantata by Gerald Finzi
December 25 was the traditional date of the winter solstice in the Roman Empire, [28] where most Christians lived, and the Roman festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of Sol Invictus) had been held on this date since 274 AD. [29] In the East, the birth of Jesus was celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6.
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary feat 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.
The Brumalia (Latin: Brumalia [bruːˈmaːlia]) were a winter solstice festival celebrated in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. [1] [2] In Rome there had been the minor holiday of Bruma on November 24, which turned into large scale end of the year festivities in Constantinople and Christianity.
Festa di Pales, o L'estate (1783), a reimagining of the Festival of Pales by Joseph-Benoît Suvée. The Parilia or Palilia was an ancient Roman festival of rural character performed annually on 21 April, aimed at cleansing both sheep and shepherd.