#MidSummerHoliday | Valentina Expressions

Happy Feriae Augusti to all the Europeans in Europe who are celebrating resting and vacation time.

Today, Italians call Ferragosto this pagan feast of the 18 A.D. made in honour of the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus.

(The Vintage Festival 1871 – Oil on Canvas – Collection Hamburger Kunsthalle – Signature L. Alma-Tadema This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.)

On the 1st of August, the Romans celebrated the harvest of grain, cereals and the Earth’s fertility. Under Roman Emperor Augustus workers were allowed to celebrate a day of rest after weeks of hard work in the agricultural sector and received a monetary bonus.

The festivity involved public rituals and banquets, bullfighting, sports events, excessive drinking and sex practices in which nobles, emperors, slaves, maids and the lower classes were permitted to participate. Even the working animals, such as cows and donkeys were left to relax for the whole month of August and showed off their festivity attires made of flowers.

Ferragosto became a law during the Renaissance throughout the papal states. The Catholic Church decided to move the festivity to the 15th of August which is the Assumption of Mary, as Ferragosto became so eradicated in people’s lives that the Roman Church decided to turn it into a legal festivity and made a holiday rather than suppress it. Mussolini, the Italian dictator, created “holiday trains” with extremely low-cost tickets for this festivity to allow the lower classes to visit cultural cities or to spend a few days at the seaside, from the 14th to the 16th of August.

Today, all the European Christian countries celebrate Ferragosto as a religious and a mid-summer holiday. I hope you get to take a mid-summer break, it is so important to recharge the batteries and keep on shining your light in this world. Ciao,
Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
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