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Vesta is the goddess of the hearth and patron of bakers and millers. During the Vestalia they honored her by hanging garlands from the necks of the donkeys that turned the mills and offering sacred cakes to her. There was also a feast. (Bernstein)
The Vestalia begins on VII Ides June with the opening of the temple of Vesta.
VII Ides June: Temple of Vesta Opened
Donkeys have a connection to Vesta beyond powering mills. There's a story where Priapus is sneaking up on Vesta in hopes of raping her, but a donkey brays and startles him, causing him to run away. (Wikipedia)
VII Ides to Ides June is the lunar date range that I've found for this celebration (Bernstein), but this ceremony seems to have grown to be a couple days longer by at least the time of the Julian solar calendar, where it last from 7 June to 15 June (Wikipedia).
🌝 I personally find the Ides to be a nice way to mark the end of the Vestalia, but by all means, continue on for a couple days if you like! 🥳
XVI Kalends July (~15th of June) was a day when the temple of Vesta was closed to the public, so it also makes sense to end the Vestalia on this date.
XVI Kalends July: Temple of Vesta Closed
📕 Bernstein, Frances, _Classical Living: Reconnecting with the Rituals of Ancient Rome_. HarperCollins, 2000.
Wikipedia, _Vestalia_ (via Gemini)
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