saturnalia Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an orgiastic festival in ancient Rome in honor of Saturn
  2. noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
    bacchanalia; bacchanal; riot; debauch; drunken revelry; debauchery; orgy.

WordNet

Sat`ur*na"li*a noun plural
Etymology
L. See Saturn.
Definitions
  1. (Rom. Antiq.) the festival of Saturn, celebrated in December, originally during one day, but afterward during seven days, as a period of unrestrained license and merriment for all classes, extending even to the slaves.
  2. Hence: A period or occasion of general licemse, in which the passions or vices have riotous indulgence.

Webster 1913