TruthMatters

When was Christ Born?

The bible states that Jesus Christ’s parents were the Virgin Mary, God was his real father and Joseph was his earthly father. He was born at Bethlehem of Judea, which is located six miles south of Jerusalem. The bible does not indicate the date or year of his birth. At the time of Christ’s birth Augustus Cæsar was emperor of Rome, and Herod the Great was king of Judea. Herod the Great was subject to Augustus Cæsar, emperor of Rome. Christ was born within a year or two of Herod the Great’s death (14 January 1 BC) and after the census. It is believed that Christ was born in the winter of 5/4 B.C.

Historical Facts:        

1.      The early Christians did not make any indication of the date that Christ was born nor did they have a special celebration associated with his birth.

2.      A Christian writer, Hippolytus of Rome (c. A.D. 165-235) dates the birth of Christ as December 25^th (no year given). He was a scholar and a bishop for a time of a schismatic Christian community in Rome. He wrote a number of exegetical works: His commentary on Daniel (ca. 204) seems to be the earliest orthodox commentary on any biblical book. His main work, in ten volumes, is entitled The Refutation of All Heresies.

3.      250 AD was the first written mention of Christians observing Christ’s birthday. It was called the “Feast of the Nativity or Our Lord and Savior”. (Gerard S. Sloyan, professor emeritus at Temple University.)

4.      274 AD an emperor of the Old Roman world chose December 25 as “the birthday of the unconquered sun.” He recognized that at this midwinter date it reaches its lowest point in the Southern sky and begins its gradual movement northward again. The annual rebirth of nature was closely linked to the Romans’ New Year and planting season. Houses were decorated with greenery and candles, and presents were given to children and the poor. In time, Christians made this a holy day of their own.

5.      By 336 AD, the Western Roman Churches celebrated Christ’s birth on the 25th of December by a feast called “Natalis”, which means Nativity.

6.      Pope Julius I. (337–352 AD) designated December 25 as the proper day, and the Eastern Roman Churches soon united with the Western Roman Churches in observing this day; and the custom has become universal. We do not observe this day because of the Pope’s decree, but because of the tradition on which the Pope’s decree was founded. Previously the Eastern Church celebrated Christ’s birth by a feast called “Epiphany” which means manifestation of Christ on earth, including his birth, baptism, and the visit of the Magi on Christ’s second birthday, with varying local emphases. They chose January 6 as the date for this feast, for they reasoned that if the first Adam was born on the sixth day of creation, the second Adam must have been born on the sixth day of the year.

7.      The Calendar of Philocalus (354 AD) indicated that Jesus’ birth was Friday, 25 December 1 AD. 

8.      The Church of Armenia celebrates the birth of Jesus on January 6. The term for this celebration appears as early as 1123 AD in Old English as “Cristes maesse” (and variations) and “Christmas” by 1568, meaning Mass of Christ.

Why the 25 December?

1. The most widely accepted theory is that this date had already been a major pagan festival, that of Sol Invictus, the ‘birth’ of the ‘Unconquerable Sun,’ marking the winter solstice (the sun’s triumph over darkness). With the triumph of Christianity, Christmas replaced the pagan festival, Christians having applied ‘Sun of Righteousness’ (Mal. 4:2) to Christ.^[1]
2. December 25 was chosen as the “official” birthday because it coincided with the Jewish festival of Hannukah (25th Chislev), which was a festival of light, and with many of the festivities that were invented to counteract the dark winters of the northern hemisphere. The fact that there were sheep on the Bethlehem hills indicates that Jesus was actually born about Passover time, because sheep were kept on the hillsides of Bethlehem to provide for the Passover lambs at Jerusalem. The fact that there was no room for Jesus to be born at a kataluma {kata/luma}, a rough marquee for shelter that was also put up for pilgrims unable to find a bed in the city at Passover time, is additional evidence. Because God sent his son “when the time had fully come” (Galatians 4:4), and his whole life was bound up with the imagery of sheep, some people believe Passover would have been the most appropriate time for the birth. ^[2]

Conclusion:

The exact date of the birth of Christ birth may never be known.