Caristia
ancient rome caristia also known cara cognatio official privately observed holiday february celebrated love family banqueting gift family gathered dine together offer food incense lares household god day reconciliation disagreement set aside poet ovid observes satirically could achieved excluding family member caused trouble caristia one several day february honored family ancestor followed parentalia nine day remembrance began february concluded feralia february view caristia next day parentalia family visited tomb ancestor shared cake wine form offering meal among feralia somber occasion public festival sacrifice offering mane spirit dead required propitiation caristia recognition family line continued present among living distribution bread wine sportulae bonus tip token appreciation poet martial pair poem giftgiving holiday one offer sort nonapology apology relative stella flaccus explaining he sent nothing didnt want offend others ought receive gift wouldnt unlike public festival caristia privately observed holiday allowed fall evennumbered day roman calendar cara cognatio remained calendar long roman empire come christian rule appeared chronography calendar polemius silvius ad juxtaposed old holiday feast day commemorating burial st peter st paul love feast caristia incompatible christian attitude scholar detected influence parentalia caristia christian agape feast consumption bread wine ancestral tomb replaced eucharist th century christian priest even encouraged participation funerary meal first half th century galloromans still observed form holiday food offering dead ritual meal however practice come suspicion pagan ritual council tour explicitly censured defiled feast day st peter observance condemned caesarius arles excuse drunkenness dancing singing demonic behavior suppression traditional commemoration dead part increasing effort church control monopolize religious behavior merovingian gaul