I think describing the quoted material as “one popular entertainment was setting a cat on fire” is like saying that in our time, one popular entertainment is praying to Jesus. A religious festival is literally popular entertainment in the sense that it is done by the people, but phrasing that way implies that someone of that time would say “I think I’ll burn a cat” in the same way that we’d say “I think I’ll go see a movie”.
I think describing the quoted material as “one popular entertainment was setting a cat on fire” is like saying that in our time, one popular entertainment is praying to Jesus. A religious festival is literally popular entertainment in the sense that it is done by the people, but phrasing that way implies that someone of that time would say “I think I’ll burn a cat” in the same way that we’d say “I think I’ll go see a movie”.