Towards the end of the Roman Empire, the general religion within it was Christianity, having been introduced by Emperor Constantine during his reign (306- 337 CE). Before this, the main religion in the Roman Empire was paganism- they had many gods and goddesses, each of them ruling over specific things- for example, the god they called Neptune was the god of the sea, the god known as Mars was the god of war (along with the goddess of wisdom and war strategy, Minerva) and the King of the gods, who was known as Zeus, was the god of the skies. At this time, the Romans didn’t have Christmas as they didn’t believe in God or Jesus Christ.

However, they did have a different midwinter festival, which they celebrated in their own way. Traditionally, in mid-December (so at roughly the same time of year as Christmas) the Romans would celebrate Saturnalia, the festival of the deity Saturn, who was the father of some Roman gods (like Jupiter and Neptune) and the grandfather of some others (such as Minerva and Mars). Among other things, he was most well-known for being the god of time, wealth and agriculture. Saturn was the ruler of Earth for some time, before his children upstaged him and took the power he had held over the planet.

The Romans celebrated his festival by closing all schools and businesses to create a holiday similar to our holidays that many modern people celebrate at Christmas. Even their slaves (it was very common to have a slave in Ancient Rome) did not have to work, but would sit with the family they usually served to take part in the festivities. They also hung up wreaths in their homes, similar to modern tradition.

They also did more general things to celebrate Saturnalia that are now done at Christmas, such as eating together, playing games and music and exchanging gifts. Common things to give and receive were candles called cerei, which were a symbol of light returning after the winter solstice. Even though the Romans didn’t always have Christmas (because of their pagan beliefs in earlier times) they did have a similar holiday to help them get through the darker and colder winter months.