Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration.
During the Saturnalia festival the slave class was given a (superficial) reprieve but I'm not sure the reality was that drastic.
Funny thing is birthday celebrations were considered a pagan ritual by early Christians. It's a good thing that the birth of Jesus just happened to coincide with Saturnalia, allowing that festival to be absorbed, hey?
It is held by many historians that the early Christians adopted the calanders of other religions and changed the emphisis [over a period] to the extent that the original significance was lost having been totally replaced by Christian meanings! Early example of the power of good PR exercises!!
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