Excerpted from “An Olive Among the Oaks”, Oak Leaves 37
The main stumbling block for many Roman and Hellenic pagans in ADF is the “wheel of the year” feast cycle which is constructed of the agricultural and solar festivals of mostly Western-European or Scandinavian origin. Although Roman and Greek calendar systems incorporated many of the same elements, the cycle of feasts was considerably more complex, so much that it has been remarked that in Greece “there are virtually as many calendars as there are cities and tribes,” (Burkert, 225). In addition, differences in climate and social structures, and the contrast between rural and urban societies resulted in agricultural celebrations and seasonal festivals which did not occur in synchronicity with those of Western Europe, the Slavic Lands, and Scandinavia. Fortunately, there is enough those of Greco-Roman religions that followers of these latter paths can raise their glass in unison with grove members of other traditions.
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In order to celebrate the Feast Days as a Roman pagan within ADF, it is necessary to make some changes to the Roman calendar. Although there may not be a corresponding Roman feast for each of the ADF High Days, a willingness to depart from a strict Reconstructionist view is all is all it takes to enjoy a fulfilling feast calendar. For instance, while the Celtic Druids in your grove celebrate Samhain (November Feast), a Roman Druid might celebrate Lemuria and/or Parentalia.
Although not occuring at the same time in the calendar year, Lemuria has many similarities to Samhain. During this time the Romans made offerings to their ancestors in order to secure their protection and blessings, while simultaneously engaging in magic to drive off the spirits of the restless dead, the larvae. George Thaniel explains: “In turn, we have a basis for distinguishing sharply between two different concepts of ghosts: the concept of the Di Manes, ‘the good spirits,’ who were honored under the official title of Di Parentes in the festival of Parentalia (Ovid, Fasti 2.533 ff.), and the concept of the Lemures, ‘the noxious spirits,’ who were propitiated in the festival of Lemuria. (Lemures and Larvae, 1973).”
The Goddess of apple harvest, Pomona, can perhaps also be honored at the November feast.
A similar correlation can be found for all the ADF Feast Days, and there is no reason that there can’t be other interpretations of what constitutes the most appropriate substitution. Examples of Roman feasts alongside similar ADF Feast Days can be found in the chart on this page.
Though there are countless other ways of organizing the Roman feast calendar in conjunction with ADF, it seems to work best in a group setting when the elements of the celebration correspond with the most general Indo-European significance of the feast. In addition, followers of Greco-Roman religions may choose to honor other feasts within the historical calendar on their own.
- November Feast: Lemuria, Parentalia
Celebrations for the dead - Winter Solstice: Saturnalia, Feast of the Sol Invictus
Winter Festival, Celebration of the Invincible Sun - February Feast: Lupercalia
Celebration of pastoral, agricultural, and female fertility - Spring Equinox: Liberalia
Celebration of male and female fertility - May Feast: Floralia
In honor of Flora, a vegetation goddess - Summer Solstice: Bacchanalia
Celebration of grape harvest with drama, wine - August Feast: Ludi Apollonares
Games in honor of Apollo - Fall Equinox: Opalia
Feast in honor of the Earth Mother, harvest
Works Cited
Adkins, Lesley and Roy A. Dictionary of Roman Religion. New York, Facts on File: 1996.
Thaniel, George. ‘Lemures and Larvae’. The American Journal of Philology. v 94 no. 3 (Summer) 1973. 182-187.
Versnel, H.S. ‘The Festival of Bona Dea and Thesmorphia’. Greece & Rome. v 39 2nd ser, no. 1 (April) 1992. 31-55.
