Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th?
Actually, not all Christians do; the Eastern Orthodox churches, following a different calendar, will have their Christmas on January 7th.
But it’s a good question. After all, we aren’t even certain of the exact year of Jesus’ birth, let alone the day and the month! Two thousand years ago people were far less interested in birthdays than we are, and of course there were no birth certificates. Nevertheless, ingenious minds have attempted to work it out, using the information given in Luke’s Gospel. The Jewish priests worked to a rota, and we know that the priest Zechariah was a member of the division of Abijah, who were on duty in the Temple in early June. So, if his wife Elizabeth fell pregnant the night he got back home, and since the angel Gabriel visited Mary when Elizabeth was six months pregnant, and if Mary also fell pregnant straight away, and if Jesus was born on his due date forty weeks later… we arrive at early September.
As you may have noticed, there are three ‘ifs’ in that sentence! And actually they are quite big ‘ifs’. We cannot assume that either Elizabeth or Mary conceived immediately (although they may have done); Luke is not as specific as that. And as all parents know, very few babies are born exactly when they are ‘due’! On top of all that, there is not even any certainty about the timing of the priestly rota! No records have survived, and there are various methods of calculation arriving at widely differing answers.
In consequence, any date that we choose for our celebration is going to be completely arbitrary. So why did the Church settle on December 25th? They took over the Roman winter festival, the Saturnalia. (That being the case, we can hardly complain when unbelievers try to take it back…)
But December 25th is just as good as any other date – and actually not that inappropriate (at least in the Northern hemisphere). For it falls just after the winter solstice, which is the darkest time of the year and an ideal time for celebrating the coming of Him who is the Light of the world (John 1:9). At the end of December, although winter is only just beginning (and the third Monday in January has been described as ‘the most depressing day of the year’), the days are already starting to get longer again, and the coming of spring is thereby heralded. Similarly, the hope kindled by Jesus’ coming had to wait a long time (over thirty years) for fulfilment – but the process had been set in motion by His birth.
So happy Christmas!
Actually, not all Christians do; the Eastern Orthodox churches, following a different calendar, will have their Christmas on January 7th.
But it’s a good question. After all, we aren’t even certain of the exact year of Jesus’ birth, let alone the day and the month! Two thousand years ago people were far less interested in birthdays than we are, and of course there were no birth certificates. Nevertheless, ingenious minds have attempted to work it out, using the information given in Luke’s Gospel. The Jewish priests worked to a rota, and we know that the priest Zechariah was a member of the division of Abijah, who were on duty in the Temple in early June. So, if his wife Elizabeth fell pregnant the night he got back home, and since the angel Gabriel visited Mary when Elizabeth was six months pregnant, and if Mary also fell pregnant straight away, and if Jesus was born on his due date forty weeks later… we arrive at early September.
As you may have noticed, there are three ‘ifs’ in that sentence! And actually they are quite big ‘ifs’. We cannot assume that either Elizabeth or Mary conceived immediately (although they may have done); Luke is not as specific as that. And as all parents know, very few babies are born exactly when they are ‘due’! On top of all that, there is not even any certainty about the timing of the priestly rota! No records have survived, and there are various methods of calculation arriving at widely differing answers.
In consequence, any date that we choose for our celebration is going to be completely arbitrary. So why did the Church settle on December 25th? They took over the Roman winter festival, the Saturnalia. (That being the case, we can hardly complain when unbelievers try to take it back…)
But December 25th is just as good as any other date – and actually not that inappropriate (at least in the Northern hemisphere). For it falls just after the winter solstice, which is the darkest time of the year and an ideal time for celebrating the coming of Him who is the Light of the world (John 1:9). At the end of December, although winter is only just beginning (and the third Monday in January has been described as ‘the most depressing day of the year’), the days are already starting to get longer again, and the coming of spring is thereby heralded. Similarly, the hope kindled by Jesus’ coming had to wait a long time (over thirty years) for fulfilment – but the process had been set in motion by His birth.
So happy Christmas!
