During the Roman ceremony of Saturnalia, which many historians to be the ancient ancestor of modern Christmas celebrations, a pig was sacrificed to please the Roman gods. In the later years of the Roman Empire a Lord of Misrule was chosen instead who would be feted upon while all the time wearing thecostume of a pig. The Lord of Misrule was always a young man who was expected to act the part of a clown. A focaccia bread would be baked that included a fava bean, and the lucky man to find the bean in his piece of bread became lord for the duration of the ceremony.