Festival of Lemuria: discover the “Roman Halloween”
Ever heard of a Halloween taking place in May? Ancient Romans had one. It was called
Lemuria, and instead of costumes and candy, it involved midnight rituals, spooky chants
and black beans thrown over the shoulder to scare off ghosts. Strange? Definitely. But also
fascinating, and very Roman.
What was Lemuria, the spooky event in Rome?
Lemuria (or Lemuralia) was a private Roman festival held each year on May 9, 11 and 13.
Those dates were chosen because odd-numbered days were considered lucky at the time.
The purpose of the festival was to keep restless spirits (called lemures) from haunting the
household. These weren’t your friendly neighborhood ghosts. Lemures were thought to be
the souls of the dead who had died young, violently, or without a proper burial. Vengeful,
forgotten and angry, they were believed to roam homes at night. Romans took these spirits
seriously. So once a year, to defend themselves from these resentful spirits, they did what
any logical person would do: throw beans at them.
Midnight rituals, barefoot walks and…beans
Yes, beans. Black ones, to be specific. The only detailed description we have of the
Lemuria rites comes from the Roman poet Ovid. According to him, the head of the
household would walk barefoot through the house at midnight. He’d wash his hands in
spring water, then take a mouthful of black beans and toss them over his shoulder while
repeating nine times: “I send these; with these beans, I redeem me and mine.” Why
beans? No one knows for sure, but the lemures were apparently big fans. Meanwhile, the
rest of the household would bang bronze pots and shout, trying to making noise to scare
away the spirits.
No weddings in May, because of Lemuria
Because Lemuria was all about death and ghosts, Romans considered the whole month of
May bad luck for weddings: in fact, during the festival, temples were closed and no
marriages were allowed. In fact, there’s an old Roman saying: “They marry badly who
marry in May” and it comes straight from this belief. So if you're thinking about a Roman
wedding…maybe wait till June.
Although the rituals faded with the rise of Christianity through the Roman Empire, some
scholars believe Lemuria may have inspired later traditions like All Saints’ Day. The idea of
honoring the dead, dealing with unsettled spirits didn’t disappear, it just evolved.
Today, Lemuria isn't celebrated, but its legacy still lives. If you’re walking the quiet streets
of Rome in May and catch a shiver for no reason, it may just be the breeze. Or maybe...
just maybe... a lemure passing by.