Jesus was not born on Christmas

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.

This AI generated illustration feature baby Jesus in a crib, Mary and Joseph as well as some sheep. | Jesus was not born on Christmas
Jesus Mary and Joseph Birth – This content was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system. Shutterstock Asset id: 2560713955

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.

Herod's Temple as depicted on the Holyland Model of Jerusalem.
Herod was a builder and one of his projects was the expansion of the Temple. Herod’s Temple as depicted on the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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.

Relief in light brown stone featuring the face of the sun God. | A relief of Sol from Roman Lugdunum, 2nd–3rd century AD.
A relief of Sol from Roman Lugdunum, 2nd–3rd century AD. The Roman festival Sol Invictus was celebrated on December 25. Mark Landon, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

A Tomte wearing a red hat in a snowy winter forest.
Tomtar (plural of Tomte) or Nisse in Norwegian is a type of small magical people, or gnomes, related to Vitter folk. They are friendly and is an inspiration behind the Swedish version of Santa Claus. An illustration of a Tomte. Shutterstock ID: 2060057882 by PLIMPLUM.

Note this year Christmas Day is on 12/25/25

To see the other Super Facts click here

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

42 thoughts on “Jesus was not born on Christmas”

  1. 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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  2. 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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  5. I’m also surprised that so many think that this is the actual date of Jesus’ birth. I’ve also read something about the North Star not being in the correct position in December, but I don’t remember the details. Anyway, Merry December 25th!! 🎅 Maggie

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  8. Thank you Thomas for those thoughts and facts…
    May the Christmas message continue to be meaningful no matter the date…

    I love the Swedish version of Santa.. 🙂 very cute.. 🙂

    May I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas Holiday Season, as I send well wishes for 2026 and way Beyond…
    Have a lovely Holiday Thomas… 🙂 💖🎄🥂

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  11. It’s good to know historical context of the Bible and how cultures blend and compromise over time. Even if I’ve sung “Christ was born on Christmas day…” in our church choir, I know it’s the day we chose to celebrate the birth. Interesting post!

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  12. Hi Thomas, what a fun fact seasonal post. Somewhere in my younger history I understood this fact, but I enjoyed all the other surrounding facts. You hit it on the nail here – “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.”

    Merry Christmas! 😊

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  13. I agree that it’s extremely unlikely that Jesus was born on December 25, however, we have no hard evidence about when he actually was born. The Gospels as we have them are believed to have been written a generation or more after Jesus lived and it’s hard to tell how many of their stories are meant to be literal or symbolic. For example, did shepherds literally attend the birth of Jesus or is that symbolism portending to Jesus being the ultimate shepherd? It’s somewhat telling that the Gospel of Mark, which is the oldest known Gospel, begins its narrative at the start of Jesus’s ministry, and doesn’t mention his birth at all.

    My brother, an ordained minister, points out that December 25 is an interesting symbolic choice in that it’s approximately three days after the solstice — the three days can be seen as symbolizing the three days between Jesus’s death and resurrection. In this case, we have three days between the darkest day and the day that light returns to the world. Which conveniently aligns with those Pagan ceremonies already discussed.

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    1. Thank you David. You are right of course. That Jesus was not born in December but likely born in September between 6 BCE and 4 BCE stems from interpretations of the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, but they were written long after the death of Jesus and the stories could be symbolic. It is interesting that your brother is an ordained minister. I did not think about that “December 25 is approximately three days after the solstice — and that the three days can be seen as symbolizing the three days between Jesus’s death and resurrection.” That is an interesting fact.

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      1. It’s worth noting that I don’t completely discount the accounts of Matthew and Luke. Those accounts likely stemmed from the source often called “Q” (from the German “Quelle” or “source”) in Biblical Scholarship, a hypothesized earlier Gospel that serves as the source for those stories that are common to Mathew and Luke but don’t appear in Mark. Until “Q” can be discovered, though, it’s hard to evaluate the historical efficacy of its stories. Still, you’re right, if we take it as history, it does seem to point to a birth in the range 6 to 4 BCE somewhere near the autumnal equinox.

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          1. I am far from an expert on Q and other early Biblical texts, but the little bit I have read is fascinating. One book I recommend is Bart D. Ehrman’s How Jesus Became God which examines the scholarship around the historical Jesus.

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  14. This post offers a very clear look at history that many people often miss. Your explanation of how Swedish traditions and old festivals shaped our modern holidays is eye-opening. Knowing this background helps us value the cultural depth behind each celebration. Thank you for sharing these insightful facts.

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  15. Java Bean: “Ayy, Dada always seems to get a bit muttery to himself about dates and pagan rituals and such when he sees signs and whatnot that say ‘Jesus is the Only Reason for the Season’, but he never really says anything about it …”

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