Happy Birthday Jesus?

Question

Was Jesus born on December 25th - if not when was he born and why is his birth celebrated on this day?

Thanks

Answer 1

Please read at the bottom of the page.

Etymology

The Nativity

This is from Wikipedia. Yet, Jehovah's Witnesses are mentioned in it. And one more thing. How could Jesus be born on Dec the 25th, when the shepard's and herds were out when they heard of it. In Dec it would have been cold and freezing. And this is one of the reasons we don't celebrate this. We only go totally on bible teachings, not that of man and pagan.

* Jesus was not born on December 25.

* Shepherds in Israel had their sheep under cover in the depths of winter and not in the fields at night.

* The ‘wise men’ were in fact Magi, astrologers, and visited Jesus when he was a young child, not a baby.

* Nowhere does the Bible say that Christians are to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But there is an express command to commemorate his death.

In his book The Story of Christmas, Michael Harrison writes:

“First of all, it must be noted that, despite the efforts of innumerable scholars, it has not yet been proved upon what day . . . Christ was born.”

The Bible is silent about the date of Jesus’ birth. Writings of early “church fathers” are divided on the matter. Clement of Alexandria (of the second and third centuries C.E.) refers to some who believed that Jesus was born on April 19 or 20. Others preferred May 20. Still others pointed to January 1, January 6, March 21, March 28 and many other dates. The Catholic Encyclopedia comments that “there is no month in the year to which respectable authorities have not assigned Christ’s birth.”

Is that not significant to you? Is it not clear that if God wanted people to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ he would have had the date recorded in the Bible? You will recall that the Bible does contain the date for the Passover and for the memorial of Christ’s death. (Ex. 12:6, 14; 1 Cor. 11:23-25; Luke 22:7-20) Apparently it was not God’s will for anyone to celebrate the birth of his Son, Jesus. It is not surprising, therefore, to read in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: “There is no historical evidence that our Lord’s birthday was celebrated during the apostolic or early postapostolic times.”

Answer 2

Christmas a Faulty Foundation

From its inception in the fourth century, Christmas has been surrounded by controversy. For example, there was the question of Jesus’ birthday. Since the Bible does not specify either the day or the month of Christ’s birth, a variety of dates have been suggested. In the third century, one group of Egyptian theologians placed it on May 20, while others favored earlier dates, such as March 28, April 2, or April 19. By the 18th-century, Jesus’ birth had been associated with every month of the year! How, then, was December 25 finally chosen?

Most scholars agree that December 25 was assigned by the Catholic Church as Jesus’ birthday. Why? “Most probably the reason,” says The New Encyclopædia Britannica, “is that early Christians wished the date to coincide with the pagan Roman festival marking the ‘birthday of the unconquered sun."

Following the so-called conversion of Constantine in the fourth century, vast numbers of pagans flocked to the form of Christianity that then prevailed. With what result? The book Early Christianity and Paganism states: “The comparatively little body of really earnest believers was lost in the great multitude of professed Christians.”

In the end the only celebration that Christians are commanded to observe is the Lord’s Evening Meal

Answer 3

Christian zealots hijacked pagan holiday of the winter solstice when they could not have the jan 1st date. then kept the date when the new calender shifted 4 days

Answer 4

Originally, December 25th was a celebration of the seasons. Christians claimed it as Jesus's birth far after. :P

Answer 5

I'm pretty sure that in jesus's time they were using the lunar calender and there is no way that his b-day would fall on the 25th of december every year! & who knows why his b-day is celebrated on the 25! i think 12/25 was a holiday for the seasons, a pagan thing maybe?