Holiday in ancient Rome to honor the god Bacchus (the Greek Dionysus), occurring on March 16 and 17. They began around 200 B.C.E. They eventually became quite wild and licentious, and were banned in Italy without a special dispensation from the Roman Senate. Today, the term means any revel where the participants seem drunken and orgiastic.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...