Super fact 74 : We celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th or December 24th, but it is quite unlikely that Jesus was born on those dates, and certainly not during the year zero.
I’ve come across many adults who seriously believe that Jesus was born on December 25th. To them it will come as a big surprise to find out that the date of Jesus’ birth is never mentioned in the Gospels, or elsewhere in the Bible, not in any of the non-canonical Gospels, nor in any known historical sources. In addition, Luke’s Gospel mentions (Luke 2:8) shepherds tending flocks outdoors at night, which is not consistent with the cold winter in Judea. Biblical scholars (see 4th and 5th paragraphs in link) suggest that the information in the Gospel of Luke regarding the vision of John the Baptists father, Zechariah, leads to the conclusion that Jesus was likely born in September.
When was Jesus Born?
Jesus was not born during the year zero, because there was no year zero. The year after 1 BC (or BCE) is 1 AD (or CE). This causes problems for various scientific disciplines such as astronomy, climate science and history. The Gospel of Matthew mentioned that the birth took place during the time of Herod the Great who died in the year 4 BCE. I can add that Herod the Great got his moniker “Great” because of his extensive construction of cities, palaces, fortresses, aqueducts, and theaters across Judea, as well as the expansion of the Jewish temple.
The Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:1-2) states that the birth of Jesus took place during the census of the Roman governor of Syria, Quirinius (Cyrenius), which was in the year 6 CE, ten years after the death of Herod. However, there were other census taken earlier and scholars suggest that perhaps Luke’s account is a misstatement and that Mathew’s is more realistic. They conclude that Jesus was most likely born between 6 BCE and 4 BCE. As already mentioned it is very hard to pin down the time of the year when Jesus was born, but the month of September seems to be a likely candidate.
Why is Christmas on December 25th?
During the first few centuries after the birth of Jesus Christians did not celebrate his birth. The first mention of the birth of Christ on December 25 comes in the 3rd century CE by Hippolytus of Rome. The Roman festival Sol Invictus, celebrating the birth of the Sun God was Celebrated on December 25th. Many pre-Christian cultures marked the shortest day of the year, on December 21 or 22, as an important moment in the calendar, celebrating the “rebirth” of the sun. Germanic peoples celebrated Yule, and various Celtic and Mediterranean cultures held celebrations centered around the winter solstice. It is possible that December 25th was chosen as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that people did not have to change the dates of their celebrations.
Regarding Germanic peoples celebrating Yule. In my native country Sweden Christmas is referred to as “Jul” pronounced “Yool” / “Yuul”. The word “Jul” directly comes from the Old Norse word “jól,” which referred to the pre-Christian midwinter festival (Yule in English). You can read about Scandinavian mythology here or here.
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Nope, definitely not. Also, it’s well documented that many people refused to give up their December celebrations by converting to Christianity, so JC’s birth date was re-located to December 25 to accommodate them as well as to incorporate many of their traditions such as decorated trees or Yule logs.
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Christian holidays and saints were often applied to “pagan” celebrations and figures. I’m not surprised that the date was earlier than the year 0, but I did not know that the date of Jesus Christ’s birth is thought to be in September. Interesting facts as always, Thomas!
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