[1] Records from the 1st century BCE describe worshipers traveling to the sanctuary carrying torches and garlands.

"[4] In the 1st century BCE, the Roman poet Ovid described the celebration: On this day, worshipers formed a procession of torches and candles around the waters of Lake Nemi (the name Nemi, from the Latin nemus, means a sacred wood or sacred grove), also known as Diana's Mirror.

One 1st century CE poet, Propertius, did not attend the festival, but observed it from the periphery as indicated in these words to his beloved: Requests and offerings to Diana may include small baked clay or bread statuettes of body parts in need of healing; small clay images of mother and child; tiny sculptures of stags; dance and song; and fruit such as apples.

[5] The three-day festival of Nemoralia corresponds to the Catholic feast days of Hippolytus of Rome (a supposed 3rd century CE martyr who shares a name with Hippolytus, a mythological figure heavily associated with Diana) on August 13, and the feast of Assumption of Mary on August 15.

Green, James Frazer, and others have noted parallels between these feast days and have speculated that the early Catholic Church may have adapted not only the dates but the symbolism from the Nemoralia.

Similar celebrations were recognized in the ancient world involving both Demeter and Isis, with whom Diana was often identified.