When Was Jesus Actually Born?

It’s Christmas time, and people believe a lot of inaccurate things about this holiday, so over the next few weeks I’m going to examine the truth behind the Christmas mythology, starting with the biggest misconception of all: not “how can the North Pole support an industrial infrastructure large enough to make toys for all the world’s children,” but whether Jesus was actually born on December 25.

Was Jesus born on December 25?

Most Christians celebrate Baby J’s birthday on December 25, but he probably wasn’t born on that day. The Bible does not provide a precise date, nor any historical documents, and the first Christians did not even celebrate Christmas. So Jesus could was born on December 25, but he could have been born on March 7 or any other date. Here are some popular alternatives for Jesus’ birthday:

• January 6 or 7 – favored by Orthodox Christians

• November 18 — according to Clement of Alexandria

• March or April – based on biblical passages describing shepherds watching over their flocks.

• September or October – depending on whether John the Baptist’s father belonged to the “Order of Abijah”. This theory is too complex to explain here, but it is fascinating, and I urge you to fall into the priestly division of Abijah’s burrow as I did.

If Jesus wasn’t born on December 25, why is it Christmas?

No one knows for sure why we landed most often on December 25, Jesus’ birthday, but there are theories. Here are two of the most common:

Solar theory: The first solid reference to the birth of Jesus on December 25 was in the Filocalus Calendar, a Roman almanac written in 354. The calendar lists December 25 as both the date of Christ’s birth and the date of an older holiday, “The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun”, suggesting that both holidays were celebrated on the same day in Rome (or at least were listed that way in the 4th century). The theory is that the Romans were like “we celebrate this day anyway” and the early Christians were all “we have your unconquered sun”. right here” and I agreed to celebrate on the 25th, ultimately surviving the Romans and leaving the pagan holiday a footnote that no one celebrates except my friend Gary.

Theory of calculation: Early Christians believed that prophets and martyrs died the same day they were conceived. I suppose a second-century skeptic carved a scathing tablet debunking this, but that’s what many early Christians believed. Jesus’ martyrdom/conception would have occurred on March 25, so his birth would have occurred on December 25 (assuming he was punctual.)

There are other theories: the date was chosen to coincide with Hannukah, Saturnalia, the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem or the Eagles/Bears match in 2006. The fact is that we don’t really know knowbut it’s probably a “a little from column A, a little from column B” situation. Calculus theory provided theological justification for the date, and solar symbolism provided cultural relevance; After all, Jesus and Santa love it when we work together.

What is the true meaning of Christmas?

Ultimately, the vagueness around Jesus’ exact birthday isn’t important. Christmas doesn’t exist because a Roman bureaucrat wrote it on a calendar or because pagans wanted to let off steam. Whether you celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Christ or as a midwinter celebration of light, the meaning of the holiday has been collectively constructed over the centuries and is constantly shaped and changed to meet the needs and desires of the people who celebrate it. Whether that celebration is a somber religious expression or listening to Mariah Carey while drinking eggnog, it’s all good.