Parentalia. Roman festival for honoring one's dead parents. Families gathered among the tombs of loved ones and made offerings or sacrifices of grain and wine to their souls. The Parentalia was the first of three Roman festivals in February for appeasing the dead which started on the Ides and lasted until the 22nd. It typically fell on February 13 or 15, and was followed by the Feralia and Caristia. During this time all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and public officials suspended business for the duration of the festivals. The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the foundation of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. ... Feralia was a Roman feast honoring the infernal powers. It typically fell on February 22 and was the last day of the Parentalia, a week-long festival that honored the dead. ... Caristia was a Roman feast day that fell on the 22nd of February, between the Feralia and the Terminalia. ...