It originates from Feriae Augusti, the festival of Emperor Augustus, who made 1 August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector.

This was an addition to earlier ancient Roman festivals which fell in the same month, such as the Vinalia rustica or the Consualia, which celebrated the harvest and the end of a long period of intense agricultural labor.

The Feriae Augusti, in addition to its propaganda function, linked the various August festivals to provide a longer period of rest, called "Augustali", which was felt necessary after the hard labour of the previous weeks.

During these celebrations, horse races were organised across the empire, and beasts of burden (including oxen, donkeys and mules), were released from their work duties and decorated with flowers.

During the early medieval period, the Roman Catholic Church moved the date of Ferragosto from the 1st to 15 August – the feast day of the Assumption of Mary – so as to impose a Christian ideology onto the pre-existing celebration.