Is there any proof that Jesus Christ was born on December 25?

Answer 1

If you do a lot of research you may find that he was conceived on December 25th. The story of his birth places Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem. The reason? They were there to be counted and pay there taxes. A study of history will tell you that would have been in the fall after the harvest while everyone had their years earnings in hand and were more willing to pay there taxes without protest. If Jesus was conceived in December he would have been born in September... just something to think about. If that was true it would also mean God considers life to start at conception but remember, The Bible says to listen to no man meaning you should study and decide for yourself but a point in the right direction cant hurt anyone find their way.

AnswerIn what month and on what day of the month was he born?

Not one of his biographers is prepared to tell; primitive Christians did not know; the church has never been able to determine this. A hundred different opinions regarding it have been expressed by Christian scholars. Wagenseil places it in February, Paulius in March, Greswell in April, Lichtenstein in June, Strong in August, Lightfoot in September, and Newcome in October. Clinton says that he was born in the spring, Larchur says that he was born in the fall. Some early Christians believed that it occurred on the 5th of January; others the 19th of April; others still on the 20th of May. The Eastern church believed that he was born on the 7th of January. The church of Rome, in the fourth century, selected the 25th of December on which to celebrate the anniversary of his birth; and this date has been accepted by the greater portion of the Christian world.

AnswerWhat determined the selection of this date?

"There was a double reason for selecting this day. In the first place it had been observed from a hoary antiquity as a heathen festival, following the longest night of the winter solstice, and was called "the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun." It was a fine thought to celebrate on that day the birth of him whom the Gospel called "the light of the world."...The second reason was, that at Rome the days from the 17th to the 23rd of December were devoted to unbridled merrymaking These days were called the Saturnalia.... Now the church was always anxious to meet the heathen, whom she had converted or was beginning to convert, half-way, by allowing them to retain the feasts they were accustomed to, only giving them a Christian dress, or attaching a new and Christian signification to them" (Bible for Learners, vol. m, pp. 66, 67).

Gibbon says: "The Roman Christians, ignorant of the real time of the birth of Jesus, fixed the solemn festival on the 25th of December, the winter solstice when the Pagans annually celebrated the birth of the sun."

AnswerWhat precludes the acceptance of this date?

Luke: At the time of his birth "there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night" (ii, 8).

Shepherds did not abide in the field with their flocks at night in mid-winter. The Rev. Cunningham Geikie, D.D., a leading English orthodox authority on Christ, says:

"One knows how wretched even Rome is in winter and Palestine is much worse during hard weather. Nor is it likely that shepherds would lie out through the night, except during unseasonably fine weather" ("Christmas at Bethlehem," in Deems' Holydays and Holidays, p. 405).

"The nativity of Jesus in December should be given up." -- Dr. Adam Clarke.

In regard to the date of Christ's birth Dr. Farrar says: "It must be admitted that we cannot demonstrate the exact year of the nativity.... As to the day and month of the nativity it is certain that they can never be recovered; they were absolutely unknown to the early fathers, and there is scarcely one month of the year which has not been fixed upon as probable by modern critics."

The inability of Christians to determine the date of Christ's birth is one of the strongest proofs of his nonexistence as a historical character. Were the story of his miraculous birth and marvelous life true the date of his birth would have been preserved and would be today, the best authenticated fact in history.

AnswerProbably not. According to Luke 2:8 the shepherds were out in the fields watching their flocks at night. This is apparently unlikely to take place in the winter and is thought by some to have been late September, which would make the end of December of the previous year as the time of the miracle of the incarnation. The adoption of December 25 has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual date of Jesus' birth. This is not an unusual thing even in modern times as a holiday for the birthday of the Queen Elizabeth II of England is not held on her actual birthday either.

Nor is it significant at all that the date is not known as the fact of both Jesus' birth and death and glorious resurrection are more important to the writers and their meaning, not the actual date. This was common practice for ancient writers -to only focus on key events in a life or in the history of a nation. In any case, September would be autumn in Israel.

No-one these days seriously doubts Jesus' actual existence as a historical person, especially given a number of extra-biblical references together with the numerous details which have been confirmed as historically accurate. Such extreme skepticism would also require the rejection of quite a number of other 'ancient' personages for whom there is much less evidence.

AnswerPart of the difficulty in figuring out when Jesus was born is trying to transliterate the Jewish calendar. Two thousand years ago in Israel, the months were not January to December, with 28 or 29 days in the second month and 30 or 31 days in the other 11. So it is not as simple as looking at the 12th month of the year and calling it December. The actual day of the month may not be 25.

Christmas is only on DEC 25th because it is an estimate. no one actually knows when christ was born but we still celebrate it. i think it is not that important that it is on the right day. shuld st george's day be on the day he killed the dragon? no one knows

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