Is it true that December 25 is not the actual date of Christ's birth?
By kristian2012
@kristian2012 (84)
November 13, 2012 3:18am CST
I have heard on a particular religious TV program that the actual birth day of Jesus Christ is not on December 25. Verses in the bible from Luke's book support this idea. according to what I've heard, it is impossible for the month of December to be the birthday of Jesus due to the fact that Christ was born on a manger, and there were shepherds on the hills watching their flock overnight. with this idea, it follows that during that night there were grass in the field where the shepherds feed their flock. also Mary and Joseph were traveling during that time, heading to Judea for them to be enlisted in the census, as decreed by Caesar Augustus, emperor of Rome-most powerful that time.
Being an emperor, Caesar would not require his people to enlist for census during winter time. the fact that many will be travelling from one place to another. a matter that will not be convenient to many people.therefore this was done not in the winter season.
During December, Bethlehem is covered with snow because it is winter there. therefore it is not the birthday of Jesus.
According to the Program I've watched, there are some biblical accounts proving that Jesus's birth was not in December.
Do you agree guys?
2 people like this
10 responses
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
14 Nov 12
Yes, that is true. :D I believe that the origin of the December was that of a pagan celebration and not Christ's actual birth. If tracing down the history it was even not on december where it would be so cold for a baby to survive living in a manger. :D
@kristian2012 (84)
•
15 Nov 12
well, its just that i find it hard to believe that most people celebrate the christmas, even my family does,, in honor of Jesus's birth. but with this premise, i find it peculiar, that many people are mislead and are devoted with this kind of occasion. i'm not an anti-Christ, in fact I have been a church goer since my childhood and i studied in a religious school in my high school and during college I was very active with a charismatic youth organization in the campus. it's just that i found out that the belief that was inculcated to me ever since my childhood is now proven to be nonfactual. it's never that easy.
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
13 Nov 12
I agree it's impossible. It's all made up and the old celebrations (mid winter) are used to introduce the new believe (the old believe was to believe in gods so jesus was a a combination of that). But in the end... who cares since it's clear people do need something to believe in. Those who invented this were not that holy (although ceasar thought he was a god like many emperors did), nor was that believe. Which is the reason why there are so many different believes nowadays (if you don't share the complete opinion you start something new). BTW jesus is a common name and ofcourse there was a jesus at that time, probably someone with complete new ideas about how it should be or can be. The only thing disturbing I find about this is that it seems people did not exist before the birth of jesus according to many and the believes who existed long before (but still are there in many cultures worldwide) are suddenly called pagan, etc. It only shows how respectless people are and that we have learned nothing from the past and surely are not more clever.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
13 Nov 12
There are many programs and people that suggest the smattering. And they can back up their claims. There is a good reason to dispute the date. Remember that the Church in its early days (and within influence from Constantine) need to organize the specifics of its worship. If not, it cannot be consistent. If they don’t know the date, no new follower will be attracted because there is no system.
I agree that the date is just an official designation for the cause. We really can’t know when He was born because life was still primitive back then. Then again, what matters is that people celebrate it and embody the message of the occasion. Having a date is good but it what you with the date and celebration is what counts more.
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
13 Nov 12
December 25th was not the birthday of Christ and knowing what the real date was is pretty pointless to me. I celebrate on the day and love the Christmas period. For some reason, perhaps to encourage pagans to accept Christianity, this date was one on which people were used to having some religious festival as it was around the time of the winter solstice, sacred to their old religion.
Easter took its name from a goddess, Astarte but that does not cause me to doubt the Resurrection.
@romzee (937)
• Philippines
14 Nov 12
Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and widely observed as holiday, celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. After Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civil holiday.In Eastern Christianity, the original date of the celebration was January 6, in connection with Epiphany. We need to remember that Christmas is a reinvented festival that had long been celebrated by the pagans.
But numerous encyclopedias plainly state that Christ was not born on December 25th! The Catholic Encyclopedia directly confirms this. In all likelihood, Christ was born in the fall! There is a great debate as to the actual date of Jesus Christ birth but scholars believes December 25th is certainly not his birthday.
@swetify620 (302)
• Australia
25 Nov 12
hello kristian,thank you for sharing this..yes,i do believe that jesus is not born in december 25,he born sometimes october that what ive heard,,,,as u stated in ur message thats the reason why he is not born in december....
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
13 Nov 12
Nobody knows the date or the exact year of Jesus' birth. Such things were not considered relevant or very important at the time and so were not recorded accurately.
We do know that the Church's celebration of his birth was not fixed until about the 4th Century and that the date was probably chosen to coincide with pre-existing Winter Festivals, particularly the Roman Saturnalia, and that biblical evidence for this date was calculated from an assumed date for the conception of Jesus at the Spring Equinox (March 25th).
Later research has shown that Jesus must have been born some time between the years 7 BCE and 2 BCE and that the actual date of his birth may have been in September but was certainly not in mid-winter!
There is an interesting theory put forward here: http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Jesus-Birthday that John was born during the feast of the Passover in 5 BCE and that Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles which, in that year, fell in September.
@bloggeroo (2167)
• Philippines
13 Nov 12
Yup. December is winter in Israel so the narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ does not support a December birthdate. Morever, the supposed census occurring during Christ's birth makes December an unlikely date. The actual month is closer to September.
@prashu228 (37525)
• India
13 Nov 12
i heard about this before, that actual birth date of Christ is not mentioned in the Bible.But still people do celebrate it. I know some Christians who doesn't celebrate Christmas as it is not mentioned in the Bible.
@mikyung (2232)
• Philippines
13 Nov 12
I believe no one can tell the specific date. The December 25 date of birth was fixed by a group of religious people way back long time ago for us to have a specific date to celebrate. Whatever the date, the fact that He was born just to save us is more important. Thanks
