(Mishnah) - (R. Meir): The following are the festivals ['eideihem'] of the idolaters - Kalandas, Saturnalia, Kartusim, the coronation day, the birthday and the day of death of kings.

(Chachamim): Any death of such an important person that involves burning his clothes and possessions is considered a festival of idolatry. If it does not involve that, it is not idolatry.

(Gemara) - (Rav): The text should read Eideihem (starting with the letter Ayin).

(Shmuel): The text should read Eideihem (starting with the letter Alef).

Rav brings proof from the pasuk (Yeshayahu 44:9), "and they (the idols) are their witnesses" (spelled with the letter Ayin).

Shmuel brings proof from the pasuk (Devarim 32:35), "For the appointed day of their reckoning is near" (spelled with the letter Alef).

Rav said the text (that discusses extending the techum of a city) should read "Me'averin - they extend" (with the letter Ayin) and Shmuel said "Me'averin - they extend" (with the letter Alef).

Rav says that the root is the word 'Ever' - limb, as they 'add a limb' to the city.

Shmuel says that the root is the word 'Uber' - foetus, as they extend the city like a pregnant woman.

Rav said that (in the Mishnah in the 8th chapter of Berachos, it says that one may not make a blessing on the flame after Shabbos until "She'ya'usu l'oro" - spelled with the letter Alef, meaning until they benefit from its light. Shmuel said that the word "She'ya'usu" is spelled with the letter Ayin.

Rav brings proof to this from the pasuk (Bereishis 34:15), "Only on this condition will we agree (Ne'os) with you" (so that we can benefit from you).

Shmuel brings proof to this from the pasuk (Yeshayahu 50:4), "to understand the need of the times (La'us) in giving over matters to those who thirst".

(Rav): Kalandas was originally established by Adam HaRishon. When he saw that the nights were getting longer and the days shorter (in the fall and winter days), he said to himself, "Woe is to me, as perhaps the one about which it is written (Bereishis 3:15), 'He will pound your head and you will bite his heel' (the snake) might come and bite me!" and he said the verse (Tehilim 139:11), "I said, 'Darkness will darken me'".

When the days began to become longer again, he said, "This freedom (Kalandas) is from Hash-m".

Question: This statement of Rav follows the opinion that the world was created in Tishrei, but according to the opinion that it was created in Nisan, he would have already seen the pattern of the variable lengths of days.

Answer (R. Yosi bei R. Bun): Rav is of the opinion that it was created on Rosh Hashana, as Rav included in the text of the Musaf prayer of Rosh Hashana, "This is the day of the beginning of Your actions, a remembrance of the first day..." - which shows that on Rosh Hashana, the world was created.

R. Yochanan disagreed with Rav and said that the source of Kalandas is the Romans. Once, the kingdoms of Egypt and Rome were at war with each other. They said, "How much longer will we be killing each other's soldiers? Let's decide to each tell the head of our army to kill himself, and if either is prepared to do this, it shows that his kingdom is worthy of ruling. The head of the army of Egypt did not go through with it.

The head of the Roman army was an old man called Yinuvris and he had 12 sons. The governors told Yinuvris to kill himself and that if he does so, they would appoint his sons as ministers on various levels. He agreed and as a result, people cried out in joy, "Kalandas Yinuvris". After he died, they marked that day as a day of mourning over his death and it was called 'Milani Imira' - 'the black day'.

(R. Yudan Antudraya): People would say, "Whoever plants lentils on that day of mourning will not be successful".

(Rav): On Kalandas, it is prohibited to do business with idolaters in all places that are under Roman rule.

(R. Yochanan): It is only prohibited with Romans who serve idols on that day; but with people who are merely under Roman rule, it is not prohibited.

Saturnalia is prohibited to all.

(R. Yochanan): Both for Kalandas and Saturnalia, it is only prohibited to do business with those who actually serve on it.

The Chevraya wanted to say that the wives of the idolaters are also prohibited (to do business with) even if they personally do not serve the idol on that day (if they have a different custom that they followed in their fathers' houses).

R. Abahu wanted to say concerning the festival of idolatry that they celebrate in Kisarin, that since the Samaritans (people of the Shomron) stooped so far as to even serve other idols, they are considered to serve that idol and one may not do business with them on that day.

R. Zeira sent R. Baybei to buy for him some small yarn from marketplace of the Saturnalia celebration of Baishan. (The people there only celebrated that festival because of the rule of the Romans, but not because they believed in it.) R. Baybei came in front of R. Yosi. He thought that R. Yosi would rule leniently like R. Yochanan (above (e)1.), but he ruled stringently like R. Yehoshua ben Levi.

(Rav): Kalandus continues for eight days before the Tekufah (of Teves. Tekufas Teves - the winter solstice, occurs on the 6th/7th of January according to their counting) and Saturnalia continues for eight days after it.

(R. Yochanan): The day that Tekufas Teves begins is called Tropico (in Greek).

(R. Ba quoting Rav): These three festivals listed in our Mishnah are the festivals of the Romans, but in Bavel and Madai there are different festivals at different times...

In Bavel there are Mahori, Kenuni and Banvasa; in Madai there are Nusardi, Tiraiski and Mahirkana,

(Rav Huna citing Rav Nachman bar Yaakov): In Persia, the 2nd of Adar is their festival of New Year. In Madai, their New Year is on the 20th of Adar.

Saturnalia, which is a day on which they worship the planet Saturn (believing that it is designated for revenge and bloodshed, expressing the hatred of Esav towards Yaakov). The Rabbis expounded the name... "Satur" - 'Sin'ah Temunah - hidden hatred' "nalia" - 'nokem ve'noter - takes vengeance and bears a grudge', as the pasuk states (Bereishis 27:41), "And Esav hated Yaakov" - that he kept hatred in his heart.

(R. Yitzchak bei R. Elazar): Until today, in Rome they call the festival Saturnalia, 'the hatred of Esav'.

The Mishnah above (1(a)) taught that one of the festivals was Kartusim. It is the day that the Romans took control.

Question: Doesn't the Mishnah already teach the case of the coronation day?

Answer (R. Yosi bei R. Bun): This refers to when they regained their kingdom after it fell.

The day on which Shlomo married the daughter of Paroh, the king of Egypt, (the angel) Michael descended and inserted a cane into the sea, from which sediment came up and it became a forest upon which the great city of Rome was built.

On the day that Yeravam set up two golden calves, Romus and Romilus came and built two huts in Rome.

On the day that Eliyahu left this world, a king was crowned in Rome, as the pasuk states (Melachim I 23:48), "a king was appointed in Edom, as until then they did not have a king".