November, or Mensis November in Latin, was the ninth month of the old Roman calendar. That was before January and February were added to make it the eleventh month. November was popular with the plebeians, or the lower class, of ancient Roman society. As temperatures began to fall in late November, people spent more time at home as the amount of work outside decreased.
During the first half of November, one of the most exciting events of the year took place: Ludi Plebeii , or the Plebeian Games. The games began in 220 BCE as a celebration of the common working people. This was in contrast to the Ludi Romani in September, which was an older tradition of the wealthy, upper classes. Both festivals had sports and theater, but the Plebeian Games drew much larger crowds from the countryside. During the games, Romans also held a feast to honor Jupiter.
When the games ended, a huge market was opened in Rome for three days. This allowed visitors to buy things necessary for winter. During the last week of November, Romans also had a festival called Brumalia to welcome the winter. At this time, farmers sacrificed pigs to Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, while wine-producersoffered up goats to Bacchus, the god of wine.
