Photography: BEANS & CROYDON

[Dispatch]

San Francisco based INVS and  5th Column come together and celebrate Saturnalia with the release of a this tee. Saturnalia is a holiday where Romans feasted together to celebrate one of their Gods, Saturn.

The design of the shirt is based off of Spanish artist Francisco Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son.”

The collab comes in two different colorways, black and burgundy, both are printed with 3M reflective ink. They release Thursday, December 17 (Saturnalia) at the INVS shop in San Francisco. It will release online the same day at 3pm on the INVS web store.

INVISIBLE STRIPES

THE ANCIENT FESTIVAL OF SATURN

[Christmas was invented to replace Saturnalia.]

The Saturnalia
was an ancient Roman holiday marked by a week of wild partying, lawlessness and a holiday celebrating the return of the sun; ending in dedications to the temple of the god Saturn, which was on 17 December.  People did any damage they pleased without fear of
consequence as the Roman courts were closed and law stated that no one
could be punished for anything. This tradition began by Roman
communities choosing someone as an enemy of Rome, representing the Lord of Misrule.
Each “enemy” was forced to over-indulge in food, sex, and mayhem for a week.
At the end of the week, the person was murdered in representation of
conquering the forces of darkness.

If it gets you down well then I’ll take it
If it gets you up well I don’t want it
It lets you down so broken-hearted
If it gets you down well then I want it

If only…only

Was nothing at all

So I’ve blown my mind to make it lazy
Those long, long days with no escaping
I hold the wheel to let it go
Don’t want to stop, don’t want to know
If it gets you down well just don’t blame me

If only…only was nothing at all

If only we’re nothing at all

1/2 cup rum
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currants
1 cup seedless dark raisins
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon mace
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1 dried pea
1 dried bean
1/2 cup blanched almonds, roughly chopped
3 cups flour, approximately
Fancy Icing

In a bowl, combine the rum with the raisins and currants. Let stand for several hours. Drain the fruit and reserve the rum. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan that is at least 3 inches deep with butter or shortening. Line with baking parchment.

Cream butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until very light and frothy. Beat in 3 T of the reserved rum and stir in the spices and lemon rind. Stir in the pea and the bean. Stir in the almonds and the flour and mix well to make a smooth batter. Fold in the rum-soaked fruit.

Spoon the batter into prepared cake pan and bake at 275 degrees F for about 2 hours, or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in cake pan until just warm. Turn cake out onto cooling rack and peel away baking parchment. When completely cool spread top with Fancy Icing.

FANCY ICING

2 egg whites, room temperature
pinch salt
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Beat egg whites with salt till very frothy. Beat in sugar and lemon juice till stiff peaks form. Add more sugar if needed to make a stiff paste. You can separate out portions to color with food coloring.

NO QUARTER

NO TRUST

NO WORMWOOD

NO GOSPEL

NO PROVIDENCE 

The Egyptian and Persian traditions merged in ancient Rome, in a festival to the ancient god of seed-time, Saturn. The people gave themselves up to wild joy. They feasted, they gave gifts, they decorated their homes with greeney. The usual order of the year was suspended: grudges and quarrels forgotten; wars interrupted or postponed. Businesses, courts, schools closed. Rich and poor were equal, slaves were served by masters, children headed the family. Cross-dressing and masquerades, merriment of all kinds prevailed. A mock king — the Lord of Misrule — was crowned. Candles and lamps chased away the spirits of darkness.

PAGAN=ROMAN

It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business….Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga.

Seneca
–From the Epistolae