Sacred Time
The Roman calendar always had a month in which there was a religious festival or celebration. Festivals would often be celebrated with games and parades. The festival of mars, (March 1-19) was celebrated with two teams of 12 dressed up in armor and run around the streets in a noisy parade. In consualia (celebrating the festival of consus) on August 21, was the main chariot racing event of the year. These celebrations would celebrate with mass gatherings, feasts, games and religious worship. The specifics of each celebration would be different. On the feast day, people would visit the temple of that God and celebrate the public holiday.
Some significant festivals included:
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IDES: The festival of Jupiter celebrated on the middle day of every month. The March Ides was their equivalent of New Year’s Day.
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Vinalia: (April 23, August 19) was the feast day of Venus, goddess of beauty. Also dedicated to Jupiter, the main God.
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Vestalia: (July 7) was the feat day of Vesta, goddess of family.
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Armilustrum: (October 19) was dedicated to Mars and marked the end of military campaign season.
A full list of all ancient roman festivals can be found here: http://histmyst.org/festivals.html
http://www.roman-empire.net/religion/religion.html
