DIVALIA. — This is the name of the festivals, recorded in the most ancient calendar, in honour of the very ancient goddess Angerona, which fell on 21 December. The statue of Angerona, which held a finger to her closed lips, signifying silence or secrecy, was located near the altar of Volupia, thus on the Via Nova, and to her the pontiffs offered a sacrifice on the occasion.
The interpretation of Angerona by the ancients was always and solely etymological; thus, for some she relieved angina, for others she drove away anxieties, etc. According to more recent scholarship, Angerona is a figure of the underworld, or patroness of the winter solstice and at the same time the revealer of the secret name of Rome (Macrobius). Some have also considered her of Etruscan origin.