Was Jesus born on December 25?
Many might criticize the Christmas holiday as having been co-opted by crass materialism. Some might even suggest refocusing upon the “reason for the season,” which is remembrance of the birth of Christ, or the First Advent. Why is that so?
The exact month and day of Jesus’ birth can only be speculated. The birthday of Jesus was said to be December 25th by Hippolytus (AD 165-235), which was also set by John Chrysostom (AD 345-407), and this is the day Western Christians observe Christmas; however, the Armenian Church observes Christmas on January 6th, and the biblical evidence does not rule out either possibility.1
Wasn’t Christmas a pagan festival? A major Mithraic festival did occur on December 25th at the time of the winter solstice; but evidence indicates this mystery religion did not become established in Rome until AD 168, which makes its genesis after Christianity.2 Still, the Romans celebrated the Saturnalia festival at the close of December, but they also observed the pagan feast of Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun, and Christianity sought to replace the pagan festivals with a Christian celebration honoring the “sun of righteousness,” a common epithet for Jesus as Messiah.3 December 25th then appears to have been chosen for reasons related to the triumph of Christianity over paganism rather than the date on which He was actually born. Christmas is not the Christianization of a pagan festival but a rival celebration setup by Christians on December 25th serves as an on-going tribute to the Son of God’s invasion into time and space.4
No one really consciously worships the pagan gods in the way the ancients did on the 25th of December, albeit there may be some modern folks engaging in pagan like revelry on the occasion. The most desirable thing to do is to continue celebrating the historical event of Jesus’ birth to honor and draw attention to our Lord before the eyes of a lost and unbelieving world. Maybe we can give up the crass materialism?
“Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King…”
1. B. Witherington, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, ed. Joel B. Green, Scott McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall (Downers Rove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992). 68.
2. Ronald Nash, The Gospel and the Geeks: Did the New Testament Borrow from Pagan Thought (Richardson, TX: Probe Books, 1992), 146-148.
3. Paul Maier, In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks At Christmas, Easter, and The Early Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1991), 29.
4. Hank Hanegraaff, Bible Answer Book (Nashville, TN: J. Countryman, 2004), 86
The exact month and day of Jesus’ birth can only be speculated. The birthday of Jesus was said to be December 25th by Hippolytus (AD 165-235), which was also set by John Chrysostom (AD 345-407), and this is the day Western Christians observe Christmas; however, the Armenian Church observes Christmas on January 6th, and the biblical evidence does not rule out either possibility.1
Wasn’t Christmas a pagan festival? A major Mithraic festival did occur on December 25th at the time of the winter solstice; but evidence indicates this mystery religion did not become established in Rome until AD 168, which makes its genesis after Christianity.2 Still, the Romans celebrated the Saturnalia festival at the close of December, but they also observed the pagan feast of Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun, and Christianity sought to replace the pagan festivals with a Christian celebration honoring the “sun of righteousness,” a common epithet for Jesus as Messiah.3 December 25th then appears to have been chosen for reasons related to the triumph of Christianity over paganism rather than the date on which He was actually born. Christmas is not the Christianization of a pagan festival but a rival celebration setup by Christians on December 25th serves as an on-going tribute to the Son of God’s invasion into time and space.4
No one really consciously worships the pagan gods in the way the ancients did on the 25th of December, albeit there may be some modern folks engaging in pagan like revelry on the occasion. The most desirable thing to do is to continue celebrating the historical event of Jesus’ birth to honor and draw attention to our Lord before the eyes of a lost and unbelieving world. Maybe we can give up the crass materialism?
“Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King…”
1. B. Witherington, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, ed. Joel B. Green, Scott McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall (Downers Rove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992). 68.
2. Ronald Nash, The Gospel and the Geeks: Did the New Testament Borrow from Pagan Thought (Richardson, TX: Probe Books, 1992), 146-148.
3. Paul Maier, In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks At Christmas, Easter, and The Early Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1991), 29.
4. Hank Hanegraaff, Bible Answer Book (Nashville, TN: J. Countryman, 2004), 86
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