For most people nowadays, late June marks the beginning of Summer with the occurrence of the Summer Solstice, the day which holds the longest period of sunshine. However, this view is relatively recent. Even in some societies to this day,… Read More ›
festival
May 1 – Part 2: Beltane, the Celtic Festival of Summer
Lo, dawning o’er yon mountain greyThe rosy birth-day of May!Glen-Shira knoweth well ‘tis Beltane’s blissful day. — Evan MacColl Summer is a-comin’ in! May 1 is the date of the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, which marks the first day… Read More ›
May 1 – Part 1: The Month of Maia, the Ancient Roman Goddess of Motherhood
May is named in honor of the ancient Roman goddess Maia, the goddess of motherhood. Maia was also referred to by the Romans as Bona Dea, “the Good Goddess”. She might be one-and-the-same with Tellus, the ancient Roman “Mother Earth”… Read More ›
April 21 – Happy Birthday, Rome!
A scene from the movie The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). For many people including myself, it is utterly impossible to imagine a world without Rome. The fabled “Eternal City of the Seven Hills” dominated the ancient world for… Read More ›
April 12-19 – The Cerealia: The Feast of Ceres, the Ancient Roman Goddess of Agriculture
Wheat in a field. Public domain image, Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheat_in_field.jpg. It is now mid April. The cold chill of Winter has been banished, and there will only be warmer days to come. New green growth is springing up everywhere. The… Read More ›
December 5 – The Festival of Faunus
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 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 ›
September 5-19 – The Ludi Magni Romani, “The Great Roman Games”
The Chariot Race in the Circus Maximus, painted by Alfredo Tominz (1890).Public domain image, Wikimedia Commons. Let the games begin! September was an exciting time in ancient Rome, because it was in early to middle September that one of the… Read More ›
August 15 – The Summer Compitalia: Ancient Rome’s Summer Street Fair
Summer Flowers, painted by John William Godward (1903). Public domain image, Wikimedia Commons.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Godward_Summer_Flowers_1903.jpg Do you remember the days before the coronavirus pandemic when we could all gather together in public spaces for special events: block parties, concerts, street fairs, etc?… Read More ›
DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS 
