Related: Saturnalia, the Roman holiday that predated Christmas. Slaves and masters switched some of their roles and duties for the duration, everyone got drunk,

Related: Saturnalia, the Roman holiday that predated Christmas. Slaves and masters switched some of their roles and duties for the duration, everyone got drunk, and many gifts were exchanged. Like the medieval version of April Fool's Day, Saturnalia revelers would appoint a chief fool, the Saturnalicius princeps, whose commands had to be obeyed, no matter how silly.