Hail Consus!
Our year now completes,
And we bury now our solar round in preparation for the one to follow.
Help us with our tasks of conclusion!
We offer our thanks and laughter for your bounty.
Salve Conse!

 

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On this day, the underground alter to Consus is uncovered once again. In August, the deity is honoured as the receiver of the harvest. Here he is offered the concluding year. In a ritual sense, the solar year terminates with the December Consualia. Consus is a manifestation of Janus, the god of beginnings. Consus, however, emphasises the endings of a process, its completion. But an ending of the old is simultaneously the beginning of the new, and, consequently, the implicit identity of Conus and Janus is to be discerned. It is the rex sacrorum or ‘king of the sacred rites’ who is active on this feriae, and for the most part the rex’s functions concern the god Janus – once again underscoring the link between the two deities.

Part of the day’s celebration consists of horse and mule races. While there is a solemnity involved with the ritual ending of the year, as with the Latin yuletide in general, this is a time for merry-making and enjoyment.