November 11:

Martinmas

St. Martin of Tours--patron saint of tavern keepers, wine growers, beggars, and drunkards--was a fourth-century Roman soldier who later founded the first monastery in Gaul. Legend has it that stumbling upon a drunken and near-naked beggar one freezing night, he ripped his cloak in half, sharing it with the unfortunate soul. Tom Cowan, author of The Way of the Saints(Putnam, 1998), suggests that Martinmas, occurring as it does on the doorstep of winter, is the perfect time to follow St. Martin's example by sorting through old clothes and coats, giving what you haven't worn in the past year to charity. In many French and Italian towns, Martinmas is celebrated as a time to sample the first new wine of the year. So you may want to uncork a bottle of your favorite vintage with friends after you've all dropped boxes of warm clothes at the local homeless shelter.

December 17-23:

Saturnalia

The most beloved of all Roman holidays, this weeklong festival honored Saturn, the god of agriculture. It was celebrated most heartily by slaves, who were granted freedom for the week. Household roles were reversed, with masters waiting hand and foot on their servants, enduring their complaints. Almost all business in the empire stopped as people indulged in a gay round of feasts, games, gambling, visits, and gift giving. If this is beginning to sound like another December celebration you know, listen to this account of the festivities from the writer Libanius: 'The impulse to spend seizes everyone. He who the whole year through has taken pleasure in saving and piling up his pennies becomes suddenly extravagant.'

--Jay Walljasper