Think of the fragrance of baking bread wafting though the house on a cold February day, and there you have the essence of an ancient Roman festival called Fornacalia. It had no set dates but occurred each year in February by proclamation, and always was completed by the seventeenth day of the month, today. The festival honored bread, ovens, and the oven goddess, Fornax, and was celebrated to help insure that grain would be plentiful and that bread would emerge from ovens without being burnt.
A celebration based in simplicity. How basic and yet how pleasing a fresh baked loaf of bread is, no? Ponder this and bake a loaf yourself or stop at your local baker and pick up a crusty loaf for your supper. This, in fact, is probably more in keeping with the spirit of ancient times, when ovens were communal. A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou. Our “ceremony of a day” concept, distilled to its purest essence.
The Romans had another February festival that you may like to ponder, as well, especially if there is any strife amongst friends or family members in your life: the feast of Concordia, which occurs on the 22nd of February, at which friends and family would gather for a meal to settle all disputes. Time is short and pride of little value. It is up to you to take the first step toward harmony.
Image: Une femme fair cuire le pain (Woman Baking Bread) by Jean-Francois Millet, oil on canvas, 1854, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.