Happy Saturnalia!

The Saturnalia was a major festival of ancient Rome dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture and abundance. Celebrated in December around the winter solstice, it symbolized the time when the days begin to lengthen again and light gradually overcomes darkness. In a joyful and festive atmosphere, social rules were temporarily relaxed, gifts were exchanged, and people celebrated renewal, freedom, and collective abundance.

This pre-Christian origin of the year-end celebrations is recalled by Raël, founder and spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, who emphasizes that the December festivities originally stemmed from pagan celebrations linked to the Saturnalia before being Christianized by the Church:

“The celebrations at the end of December were not at all Christian, but beautiful pagan festivals called Saturnalia, where people celebrated freely and joyfully. The early Catholic Church did everything it could to Christianize these festivals.”

He adds:

“Returning to consumerism is a beautiful way to bring back the pre-Christian ‘Christmas’… enjoy your end-of-year ‘orgies’ for Saturnalia!”

We invite you to join us at our gathering to celebrate Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival taking place between December 17 and 24. This year we are a little late… I am sure you don’t mind…

Let’s meet on:
Sunday, December 27th at 5:00 pm

Location:
401 – 1414 W 73rd Avenue, Vancouver. Buzzer 401 (map)

What to bring: 

• A dish to share in the potluck. Please bring enough food to serve about 8-10 people.
• Bring a pre-wrapped gift of about $25 in value, or what you can afford, for a fun exchange game.🎁  💝  

We will have a fun game for the present exchange after dinner!

Dinner will start at 6 pm

Please RSVP to Denise by December 25.