The Roman Saturnalia festival is celebrated in honour of the Roman god Saturn who is normally bound up in his temple all year by golden threads to prevent him from using his awesome power of chaos. But in order to appease Saturn so that he doesn't become so enraged that he breaks free, the Romans agree to release him once a year for five days. Saturn's freed power turns our world upside-down and reverses the normal order of things. It is a time of gift-giving, merriment, partying and good humour - and where slaves get to lord it over their masters and play pranks (although if they are too cheeky, when it's over they will still receive a damn good thrashing!).
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