Marzēaḥ

Marzēaḥ was an ancient Northwest Semitic religious and social ceremony and institution. The marzēaḥ was related to wine-drinking, and at least sometimes had a presiding leader or master of ceremonies. Some evidence relates the marzēaḥ to mourning and veneration of the dead, and the nature of this relationship is discussed by scholars; the institution of the marzēaḥ was not necessarily static, and may have changed throughout the many centuries and locations of its existence. Many of the attestations of the marzēaḥ do not provide sufficient context for conclusion about the nature of the ceremony.