Pagan Festival Shout Out: Lares

Today is the day that belongs to Mars, the god of war. Why do you think it is called March?! Anyway today the day we pay tribute to our household gods, spirits, and ancestors (The Lares).Lares (/ˈlɑːriːz/, singular Lar), archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lares were believed to observe, protect and influence all that happened within the boundaries of their location or function. The statues of domestic Lares were placed at table during family meals; their presence, cult and blessing seem to have been required at all important family events. Roman writers sometimes identify or conflate them with ancestor-deities, domestic Penates and the hearth. Because of these associations, Lares are sometimes categorised as household gods by some.

Read more here: http://asouthernlifeinscandaloustimes.blogspot.com/2014/03/pagan-festival-shout-out-lares-mars.html