DIVALIA. - This was the name of the festivals, known to the most ancient calendar, in honour of the very ancient goddess Angerona, which fell on 21 December. The statue of Angerona, who held a finger over her closed mouth, signifying silence or secrecy, stood near the altar of Volupia, thus on the via Nova; and there the pontiffs, on the occasion, offered a sacrifice to her.
The interpretation of Angerona made by the ancients is always and exclusively etymological: thus, according to some, she preserved people from ungina; according to others, she drove away angor, etc. According to more recent criticism, Angerona is a figure of the underworld, or else patroness of the winter solstice and at the same time protectress of the secret name of Rome (blucorobio). Some have also considered her to be of Etruscan origin.
Cesare D'Onofrio