How was the Date for Christmas Established
Why December 25 th The Bible does not tell us the exact date of Jesus’ birth, so there is no way to know from scripture when Jesus was actually born. So, if the Bible is silent on the subject, how was it determined that Christmas, Jesus’ birthday, was on December 25 th ? There are two competing theories for how and why this date was selected. Some historians claim that December 25 was selected because that date was already a pagan holiday. In the Roman culture, December 25 th was the winter solstice, the date of the Sol Invictus festival. The thought goes that this would make it easier for some Pagans to convert to Christianity by absorbing the current religious festival into a new Christian festival. This seems a little far-fetched, as many in the early church wanted to distance themselves from pagan festivals and traditions. This theory is very popular with those who oppose Christianity. The second theory proposed is based on when Jesus died and, thus, when he was ...