Was Jesus actually Born on December 25 Or Christmas and Jesus Birth are un-related?
December 25 is not the day listed in the Bible as the day of the birth of Jesus; on the day or time of the year, Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The Bible is merely silent. His birth was not celebrated by the early Christians.
As a result, there are various conflicting stories as to how and why the birthday of Jesus is known as December 25.
However, by the fourth century, we find parallels to two dates that were generally recognized and now often observed as the birthday of Jesus: December 25 in the Western Roman Empire. January 6 in the East (especially in Egypt and Asia Minor).
The birth was first conceived about by most accounts, in around 200 A.D. It took place on January 6. About why? It may have been the result of’ an estimate based on a supposed April 6 crucifixion date combined with the ancient assumption. Prophets died on the very day as their creation,’ The birthday party was moved to December 25 in the middle of the 4th century. Who was making the decision? Some sources suggest that it was the pope; others claim that it was not.
Early Christians had a somewhat different attitude. “In fact, since such festivals were intertwined with the “classic faiths,” which dabbled in astrology and the paranormal, they did not like birthdays at all.
Early Christians preferred to celebrate the day of a person’s death as his or her actual birthday to distinguish themselves from ancient pagan rituals. This mirrored the Christian conviction that until it resulted in everlasting life, which began at death, a human’s actual birth mattered very little. A holy death deserves incredible joy, not mere birth.
Christians started to associate the feasts of saints with the anniversaries of their deaths, never around their birthday, following this method, save for Mary, the Mother of the Lord (September 8) and Saint John the Baptist (September 8) (June 24).
No day or month that Jesus was born is mentioned in the Bible. There are certain different hypotheses as to why, on December 25, Christmas is celebrated. When Mary was told she would have an exceptional infant, Jesus (called the Annunciation) was on March 25. It is now observed on the day, a very early Christian custom says. December 25 is nine months after that date. Others claim that Christmas is celebrated on this day because it was already famous as the sun’s birthday in ancient religious festivities.
‘Saturnalia’ and ‘Dies Natalis Solis Invicti’ were celebrated in December around this date, the Winter Solstice and the ancient festival day marking the sun’s rise. Though December 25 was popularised as a Christmas day, it was not because on that day, Jesus was born. If you look at Scripture carefully, it suggests that this is an unlikely date for the birth of Christ.
It seems doubtful, but it’s not impossible, that Jesus was necessarily born on December 25. Here are a few significant explanations.
We comprehend that shepherds were watching their flocks in the fields at the time of the birth of Jesus.
Scripture tells us, “[Mary] has given birth to a son, her firstborn.” She bundled him in clothes and put him in a manger, for they had no guest room at their disposal. And shepherds were living in the adjacent fields, looking over their flocks at night (Luke 2:7-8). But shepherds during December were not in the areas. The account of Luke indicates that in summer or early fall, Jesus may have been born. Judea is cold and rainy in December, so shepherds may have found refuge for their flocks by night. The conditions would not have required shepherds in the field to watch over their flocks at night.
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The parents of Jesus came to enroll in the Roman Census in Bethlehem.
According to Luke 2:1, the census or registration that was the reason for Joseph and Mary’s pilgrimage to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, is related to Augustus’ decree welcoming the Greek-Roman world. In a sequence of enrollments associated with Quirinius or with the imperial policy inaugurated by Augustus’ decree, Luke carefully distinguishes the census as “first” at the time of Jesus’ birth. The census was not taken in winter because temperatures frequently fell below zero, and roads were in bad repair. This period of the year didn’t allow it.
For Mary to travel, winter would be a rough time.
Mary traveled a long distance to Bethlehem from Nazareth, which was about 70 miles away. An adamant time for a pregnant Mary to drive such a long distance would possibly be winter.
A dangerous and challenging place was Mary and Joseph’s world, one whose harsh circumstances were not thoroughly documented in the Gospel accounts of their tribulations.
A New Testament and biblical archaeology professor James F. Strange, of South Florida University in Tampa, said that the authors of the gospels of Matthew and Luke “are so laconic about the [Nativity] event because they believe the reader would know what it was like.””We have no idea how hard it was.” Odd statistics say that because of Mary’s imminent delivery, Joseph and Mary would possibly have traveled just 10 miles a day.
The year of year that Jesus was born remains an enormous topic of discussion, particularly the month of the birth of Jesus. Scripture refers to the fall of the year as the most plausible moment of the birth of Jesus, many biblical scholars say. Astronomer Dave Reneke argued in 2008 that in the autumn, Jesus was born.
The Star of Bethlehem might have been Venus and Jupiter moving together to create brilliant light in the atmosphere, Reneke told New Scientist. Reneke determined, using computer simulations, that this unusual occurrence happened on June 17, in the year 2 B.C. Other scholars also reported that in October of 7 B.B., similar conjunction took place between Saturn and Jupiter, making Jesus an autumn infant.
Theologians have also argued that Jesus was born in the spring, based on the biblical story that on the night of the birth of Jesus, shepherds watched over their flocks in the countryside. Which they must have done in the spring, not the winter. Nothing in the Bible refers to Jesus being born in the dead of winter. Sadly, nobody even knows specifically when Jesus was born.
Although it is vital to consider the birth of Jesus from a historical perspective, it is theologically meaningless by looking at the broader context and has very little significance. It is less critical for us to know why it happened and more essential for us to consider when it happened and when it happened. The Bible is straightforward on that.