Today it is Dies Comitialis – almost the same as Dies FASTI, but this day is reserved for public gatherings of Romans – comitia. So, if your local community is going to appoint a gathering to discuss certain matters and make decisions – these days are just perfect for that!
It is the 8th day before Kalendae Martiae.
It is the E nundial day, the 8th day before Nundinae – the market day this year.
On this day Romans celebrate the festival of Caristia, also known as the Cara Cognatio, was an official but privately observed holiday on February 22, that celebrated love of family with banqueting and gifts. Families gathered to dine together and offer food and incense to the Lares as their household gods. It was a day of reconciliation when disagreements were to be set aside, but the poet Ovid observes satirically that this could be achieved only by excluding family members who caused trouble. The Caristia was one of several days in February that honored family or ancestors. It followed the Parentalia, nine days of remembrance which began on February 13 and concluded with the Feralia on February 21, or in the view of some, the Caristia on the next day. For the Parentalia, families visited the tombs of their ancestors and shared cake and wine, both in the form of offerings and as a meal among themselves. The Feralia was a more somber occasion, a public festival of sacrifices and offerings to the Manes, the spirits of the dead who required 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 on gift-giving for the holiday; in one, he offers a sort of “non-apology apology” to his relatives Stella and Flaccus, explaining that he’s sent them nothing because he didn’t want to offend others who ought to receive a gift from him and wouldn’t.
