The Kalends of January was a significant part of the Roman Midwinter celebrations, and has lent its name to Midwinter festivals all over the Western world. For example, in Provence in France the festival is known as Calendas, in Poland it is called
Kolenda, and in Russia, Kolyada
. In the Czech Republic it is called
Koteda, in Lithuania,
Kalledos, and in Wales and Scotland,
Calenig and
Calluinn respectively - all these names derived from the Latin
Kalendae, and all referring to the festival of midwinter.
Initially the Kalends followed
Saturnalia, beginning a few days of rest to allow aching heads and stomachs to recover! At this time new consuls were inducted into office, and for at least three days a high festival took place...
I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website
The Pagan Calendar (hosted at
shirleytwofeathers.com) and can be viewed in its entirety here:
The Kalends of January
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