Tell your friend Veronica it's time to celebrate Hanukkah! It starts today at sundown and, of course, lasts "eight crazy nights" to the 23rd. Mazel tov! (for some better video, try Hulu) :)

Also, happy belated Saturnalia:

Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival held in honour of Saturn (Cronus), the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia.^[1] Most relevantly, Saturn is the father of Rome's primary god, Jupiter.

Celebration

Saturnalia was introduced around 217 BC to raise citizen morale after a crushing military defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians.^[2] Originally celebrated for a day, on December 17, its popularity saw it grow until it became a week-long extravaganza, ending on the 23rd.^{[citation needed]} Efforts to shorten the celebration were unsuccessful. Augustus tried to reduce it to three days, and Caligula to five. These attempts caused uproar and massive revolts among the Roman citizens.

omg! it's proof of what Nuntium Vulpes said -- a "War on Saturnalia"! `=o

LOL!

[note: the italicized text above is also set as blockquote as it's from Wikipedia. the HTML code is there, and it shows in the draft screen correctly, but isn't 'taking' when submitted.]

Saturnalia involved the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately. The celebrations included a school holiday, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia), and a special market (sigillaria). Gambling was allowed for all, even slaves.

The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colourful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with (a pretense of) respect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. Yet the reversal of the social order was mostly superficial; the banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slaves, and they would prepare their masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it.^[3]

The customary greeting for the occasion is a "Io, Saturnalia!" — io (pronounced "e-o") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn").^{[citation needed]}

The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, some of its customs may have influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.^[5]

Hmm; It all sounds somewhat familiar, particularly with further reading of the current article at Wikipedia. And then its observance declined in the same time  frame which the Bible was compiled and Christianity took over the government? #shifty :)