In ancient Rome, the lemures—the ghosts of the family’s dead—were considered to be troublesome and therefore had to be exorcized on a regular basis. The Lemuralia or Lemuria was a yearly festival held on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May to get rid of the lemures. Participants walked barefoot, cleansed their hands three times, and threw black beans behind them nine times to appease the spirits of the dead. On the third day of the festival, a merchants’ festival was held to ensure a prosperous year for business. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary