Saturnalia was a religious celebration
and all understood that the blood spilled was an offering to the god Saturn.
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3
Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd,
indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.
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4
The last day of Saturnalia was referred to as the“dies natalis solis
invicti”(birthday of the unconquered sun) by the Romans, who celebrated it by giving gifts to each other on December 25.
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5
And freedom to participate
meant not just the sort of occasional Saturnalia that we take to be the key mode of democracy for most of us-
a temporary exchange of roles by political masters and slaves come general or local election(or referendum) time.