Janus at the table

Among the Romans, the gods are honored before eating: a libation of wine and honey, a sacred cake (libum) burned on the altar or placed before the household shrine. Janus always receives the offering FIRST, before Jupiter himself, because he opens every beginning. Then comes the human meal, structured into gustatio (appetizer), mensa prima (main dish of farro or grains), and mensa secunda (honey sweets and fruits). The Kalends of January — the month of Janus — concentrate the good-luck sweets (strenae) offered so that the year may be as sweet as they are.

Honey is Janus's signature ingredient: it seals offerings, gilds the libum, and perfumes the libation wine. At the threshold of the year, people give each other honeyed foods so that the coming twelve months may be sweet. Sugar does not yet exist: honey is THE taste of a happy beginning.