Editing Roman festivals (section)

{{short description|Scheduled celebration in ancient Rome}}
{{About|ancient Roman holidays|the symphonic poem by Ottorino Respighi|Roman Festivals (Respighi)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}    
{{Ancient Roman religion}}
'''Festivals in ancient Rome''' were a very important part of [[religion in ancient Rome|Roman religious life]] during both the [[Roman Republic|Republican]] and [[Roman Empire|Imperial eras]], and one of the primary features of the [[Roman calendar]]. '''''Feriae''''' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singular also ''feriae'' or '''''dies ferialis''''') were either public ''(publicae)'' or private ''([[privatus|privatae]])''. State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games ''([[ludi]])'', such as the [[Ludi Apollinares]], were not technically ''feriae'', but the days on which they were celebrated were ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#festus|dies festi]]'', holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although ''feriae'' were paid for by the state, ''ludi'' were often funded by wealthy individuals. ''Feriae privatae'' were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families.<ref>[[H.H. Scullard]], ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'' (Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 38–39.</ref> This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods, families, and friends held simultaneously throughout Rome.

''Feriae publicae'' were of three kinds:
* ''Stativae'' were annual holidays that held a fixed or stable date on the calendar.
* ''Conceptivae'' were annual holidays that were [[moveable feast]]s (like [[Easter]] on the Christian calendar, or [[Thanksgiving]] in North America); the date was announced by the [[Roman Magistrates|magistrates]] or [[College of Pontiffs|priests]] who were responsible for them.
* ''[[#Feriae imperativae|Imperativae]]'' were holidays held "on demand" (from the verb ''impero, imperare'', "to order, command") when special celebrations or expiations were called for.<ref>Scullard, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic,'' p. 39.</ref>

One of the most important sources for Roman holidays is [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', an incomplete poem that describes and provides origins for festivals from January to June at the time of [[Augustus]].