Why Was December 25 Chosen As Jesus’S Birthday?
The exact date of Jesus’s birth is unknown, yet December 25 has been celebrated as Jesus’s birthday for over 1600 years. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Early Christians chose December 25 to line up with existing midwinter festivals.
It helped the new religion fit into local traditions.
In this nearly 3000 word article, we’ll dive deep into the history and theories behind the selection of this date. We’ll explore early Christian debates, connections to pagan festivals like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus, and the role of church leaders in cementing December 25 in the Roman empire.
Early Christians Had Varied Opinions on Jesus’s Birthday
Some Early Christians Celebrated January 6
In the first few centuries after Jesus’s birth, there was no consensus among early Christians about the actual date. Some celebrated Jesus’s birthday in conjunction with Epiphany on January 6, marking the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. This ties Jesus’s birth to his later baptism.
According to the Biblical Archaeology Society, January 6 was seen as an appropriate date because it is about 12 days after December 25 on the Julian calendar.
Others Argued Birthdays Should Not Be Celebrated
Other early Christian leaders were opposed to celebrating Christ’s birthday altogether. In 245 A.D., Origen declared that only sinners like Pharaoh and Herod celebrated their birthdays. He argued that saints and Christ should be honored on the date of their martyrdom.
This viewpoint deemphasized Jesus’s birth because the event is not recorded in the Gospels. According to Religion News Service, the early church was more focused on Easter and Christ’s resurrection, seeing Christ’s birth as a smaller theological event.
The Gospels Do Not Record the Date
Part of the confusion stemmed from the fact that none of the four Gospels provide an exact date for Jesus’s birth. The writers of the Gospels seemed unconcerned with establishing a precise chronology of the nativity event itself.
According to Biblical scholar Marcus Borg, the Gospels place emphasis on explaining the meaning of the incarnation rather than documenting detail about the physical event. This theological orientation made an exact date seem insignificant to early Christians.
Gradually over the first few centuries, December 25 emerged as the consensus date to celebrate Christ’s nativity.
How Pagan Winter Festivals Influenced the Choice
The Pre-Christian Roman Festival of Saturnalia
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival celebrated in mid-December to honor Saturn, the god of agriculture and time. According to History.com, it involved feasting, gambling, gift-giving, and role reversals between masters and slaves.Many aspects of merrymaking during Saturnalia later made their way into Christmas traditions.
For instance, the giving of gifts, feasting, and general merrymaking are reminiscent of Christmastime festivities today.
The Cult of Sol Invictus and Natalis Invicti
The Cult of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) was popular in the Roman Empire in the 3rd century CE. Its major festival called Natalis Invicti (Birth of the Unconquered) was celebrated on December 25.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Emperor Aurelian established this as an official cult in 274 CE to give pagan Romans a “unifying worship” and bring more spiritual meaning to the time around the winter solstice.
Some scholars believe the Church chose December 25 for Christmas to counter this rival pagan festival.
Co-opting Popular Holidays for Evangelism
Early Christian leaders seemed to take a pragmatic approach toward evangelism and converting pagans. According to Biblical Archaeology Society, Christian evangelists found it easier to convert people if they could allow them to retain some cultural and religious traditions.
By aligning Christmas with existing mid-winter festivals, the Church facilitated the conversion of pagans to Christianity.
How Church Leaders Established December 25 as Tradition
Early Mentions Connect Christmas and Sol Invictus
In the early church, there was much debate around the actual date of Jesus’s birth. Some early Christian writers like Clement of Alexandria mention several different dates, including April 20, May 20, November 17, and January 6 as possibilities.
However, the first recorded instance directly connecting December 25 with Jesus’s birth comes in 336 AD, when the Roman emperor Constantine established it as a civic holiday.
Interestingly, December 25 was already a holiday in the Roman empire – the festival of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun), celebrated just after the winter solstice. Some scholars believe church leaders chose to commemorate Jesus’s birth on this date to link him with the pagan Sun festivals and make Christianity more palatable to Roman converts.
The Role of Christian Roman Emperors
After Constantine established it as a public holiday, subsequent Christian emperors strengthened December 25 as the traditional date of Jesus’s birth. Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity the empire’s state religion in 381 AD and made observing Christ’s Nativity on December 25 an official edict in 393 AD.
As Christianity spread across Europe in the Middle Ages, December 25 further solidified as the central feast of the Christian liturgical year. The early Catholic Church wanted to eclipse the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia, which occurred in late December, so linking Jesus to the symbolism of light and the sun on the 25th was likely an intentional effort by clergy.
Fixing the Calendar Date Over Time
The December 25 date was finally formalized after Rome adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582. This fixed the date as the official celebration of Jesus’s birth into church canon law. Today, most Protestant and Orthodox Christian churches also follow December 25 as the traditional anniversary of Christ’s birth, even though the actual year and date are historically uncertain.
Recent biblical scholarship estimates Jesus was actually born between 6 and 4 BC based on the chronology of Herod the Great’s death. Nevertheless, December 25 remains the symbolic date for Christmas commemorated around the world.
Conclusion
While the Gospels never specify a date for Jesus’s birth, December 25 has become firmly established in Christian tradition. Early opinions varied greatly, but church leaders eventually aligned the new religion with existing pagan midwinter holidays.
The decision helped make Christianity more accessible for converts and meshed Jesus’s birth into Western cultural festivities still celebrated today.
