In the ancient Roman calendar, each month had three special days assigned to it: the Kalends, the Nones, and the Ides. The “Kalends” was the first day in each month, and it’s from this Latin word that we get our… Read More ›

December
December 15 – A Day of Prayers, Sacrifices, and…Mule Racing? The Ancient Roman Consualia Festival
In the ancient Roman calendar, December 15 was (at least according to some ancient authors) one of the main feast days for the sea god Neptune. December 15 could also be called “Equine Appreciation Day”, because it was essentially a… Read More ›
December 1 – The Kalends of December
Today is the first day of December. In the minds of some, this day marks the unofficial beginning of Winter, as the Autumn harvests have been gathered in, most of the leaves have fallen off of the trees by this… Read More ›
December 28 – The Massacre of the Innocents
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, the Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star… Read More ›
December 11 – The Septimontium: The Day of the Seven Hills
Ancient Rome was known far and wide as “the City of the Seven Hills”. The seven eminences which the city of Rome was built upon were known as the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, Quirinal, Caelian, Viminal, and Esquiline. For some reason,… Read More ›