Caristia February 22

The Caristia was one of several days in February that honored family or ancestors. It followed the Parentalia, nine days of commemoration that began on February 13 and ended with the Feralia on February 21, or according to some, the Caristia the following day. For the Parentalia, families visited the graves of their ancestors and shared cakes and wines both as offerings and meals with each other. The Feralia was a more somber occasion, a public feast of sacrifices and offerings to the Manes, the spirits of the dead who demanded propitiation. The Caristia was a recognition of the family line as it continued into the present and among the living.

There were distributions of bread, wine, and sportulae (bonuses, tips, tokens of appreciation). The poet Martial has a pair of poems about holiday gifts; in one, he offers a sort of "non-apology" to his relatives Stella and Flaccus, explaining that he did not send them anything because he did not want to offend others who should receive a gift from him and would not.

In the first half of the sixth century, some Gallo-Romans still observed a form of feasting with food offerings to the dead and a ritual meal. By this time, however, the practice was suspected of being a "pagan" ritual, and the Council of Tours in 567 explicitly censured those who "defiled" the feast of St. Peter. The observances were condemned by Caesarius of Arles as an excuse for drunkenness, dancing, singing, and other demonic behavior. The suppression of traditional commemorations of the dead was part of the Church's increasing efforts to control and monopolize religious behavior in the Gaul Merovingian.