May 9

OVID, Fasti. Translated by A. S. Kline 2004.

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When Hesperus, the Evening Star, has shown his lovely face

Three times, from that day, and the defeated stars fled Phoebus,

It will be the ancient sacred rites of the Lemuria,

When we make offerings to the voiceless spirits.

The year was once shorter, the pious rites of purification, februa,

Were unknown, nor were you, two-faced Janus, leader of the months:

Yet they still brought gifts owed to the ashes of the dead,

The grandson paid respects to his buried grandfather’s tomb.

It was May month, named for our ancestors (maiores),

And a relic of the old custom still continues.

When midnight comes, lending silence to sleep,

And all the dogs and hedgerow birds are quiet,

He who remembers ancient rites, and fears the gods,

Rises (no fetters binding his two feet)

And makes the sign with thumb and closed fingers,

Lest an insubstantial shade meets him in the silence.

After cleansing his hands in spring water,

He turns and first taking some black beans,

Throws them with averted face: saying, while throwing:

‘With these beans I throw I redeem me and mine.’

He says this nine times without looking back: the shade

Is thought to gather the beans, and follow behind, unseen.

Again he touches water, and sounds the Temesan bronze,

And asks the spirit to leave his house.

When nine times he’s cried: ‘Ancestral spirit, depart,’

He looks back, and believes the sacred rite’s fulfilled.

Lemuralia

Roman mosaic showing the skull. Source: Imperium Romanum website

Today is the ancient Roman feast of Lemuralia, the festival of the dead, during which family ancestors were remembered but also the night that their ghosts were rumoured to be abroad, meaning the festival was closer in nature to the Celtic autumnal Halloween, rather than the celebration of the arriving summer associated with Beltane. These unnerving aspects of Lemuralia probably explain why the Church discourages marriages in May, and the words to a traditional rhyme on the subject: Marry in May and you’ll rue the day. Bad luck is said to dog any couples unwise enough to choose this month to get wed.

Haircuts, Bonfires and Weddings: Lag BaOmer and the customs of Sefira

It is customary for all Jews to observe some customs of mourning during the days of Sefiras HaOmer – between Pesach and Shavous – and to have a festive day on either the 33rd day of the Omer – or for Sephardim the 34th. These customs are binding for all observant Jews as codified in the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch etc.

That said, it seems to me that the origins of these customs have come under…

Mosaic depicting a skeleton  Vesuvius area, 1st Century B.C.E., Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, © Fotografica Foglia Image source: X

Today, May 9, is the first day of the Lemuralia, a festival to appease the restless dead. It is a domestic observance, rather than a public rite. The temples were closed, and marriages were prohibited during this period. 

The Lemures are the roaming spirits of those who have no family or friends to perform the customary rites for them. These are not one’s Lares, though, and one does not wish to encourage them to linger at one’s domus (home). Therefore, a bowl of water and some scraps of food, with flour, salt, olive oil, and perhaps a coin of small value to pay the ferryman may be left for them outdoors or, better yet, at a crossroads. A prayer is offered for them to peacefully continue their journey to the next world.

The home may be cleaned and purified during this festival, and one’s own Lares should be shown special honor, perhaps with offerings of candlelight, flowers, or morsels from your own evening meal.