What if there was a secret god in charge of every lightning bolt that flashes while you're sleeping?

The Summanus Festival: Rome's Thunder God Party!

When ancient Romans celebrated the mysterious god of nighttime lightning!

Romans threw a party for Summanus, their awesome god of nighttime lightning!

Have you ever watched a thunderstorm at night and wondered who was in charge of all those bright flashes? The ancient Romans sure did! Every year on June 20th, they threw an awesome festival for Summanus — the mysterious god of nighttime thunder and lightning!

While most people know about Jupiter, the king of Roman gods who ruled daytime storms, Summanus was his shadowy partner who controlled all the lightning that crackled across the night sky. Pretty cool job, right?

During the Summanus festival, Romans baked special round cakes called 'summanalia' that looked like wheels. Can you guess why? Ancient people thought the round shape represented the sun or the rolling sound of thunder! These tasty treats were offered at Summanus's temple near the famous Circus Maximus chariot racing track.

Here's something wild: Summanus was SO important that he once had a statue right on top of Jupiter's temple! But one stormy night (how fitting!), lightning actually struck the statue and knocked its head off. The Romans searched everywhere but never found it!

💡 Summanus's statue head was knocked off by lightning and was never found — talk about his powers backfiring!