The Ancient Romans celebrated their mortuary cult at the end of every year. This feast was called Parentalia (derived from lat. parens and meaning "concerning the parents"). To celebrate it, the crypt or tomb was visited, the bereaved family members prayed, sang and ate food at the tomb, as if the deceased were still alive. Some weeks after that, another feast was celebrated: Caristia, the "feast of reconciliation". To strengthen the memorising effect of a mortuary cult the Ancient Romans placed palatial stelae at the burial site. The inscriptions on the stelae were full of hymns and glorifications in attempt to hold up an always positive picture of the deceased.Mary Beard, J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price: Religions of Rome: A History. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK) 1998, p. 50.
