It’s Christmas time, and people believe a lot of inaccurate things about the holiday, so for the next few weeks, I’m going to take a look at the truth behind Christmas mythology, starting with the biggest misconception of them all: Not “how can the North Pole support an industrial infrastructure large enough to build toys for all the world’s children,” but whether Jesus was really born on Dec. 25.
Was Jesus born on Dec. 25?
Most Christians celebrate the Baby J’s birthday on Dec. 25, but he probably wasn’t born on that day. The Bible doesn’t provide a specific date, neither does any historical document, and early Christians didn’t even celebrate Christmas. So Jesus could have been born on Dec. 25, but he could have been born on March 7, or any other date. Here are some popular alternatives for Jesus’ birthday:
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January 6 or 7—favored by Orthodox Christians
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November 18—according to Clement of Alexandria
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March or April—based on Biblical passages describing shepherds watching their flocks.
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September or October—based on John the Baptist’s father’s membership in “The Order of Abijah.” This theory is too complex to explain here, but it’s fascinating, and I urge you to fall into the priestly division of Abijah rabbit hole like I did.
If Jesus wasn’t born on Dec. 25, why is it Christmas?
No one knows for sure why we have mostly landed on Dec. 25 as Jesus’ birthday, but there are theories. Here are two of the most common:
Solar Theory: The first solid reference to Jesus being born on Dec. 25 was in the Calendar of Filocalus, a Roman almanac written in 354. The calendar denotes Dec. 25 as both Christ’s birth date and the date of an older holiday, “The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun,” suggesting both holidays were celebrated on the same day in Rome (or were at least listed that way by the 4th century). The theory is that Romans were like “we celebrate the day anyway” and early Christians were all “we got your unconquered sun right here” and accepted the 25th to celebrate, eventually outlasting the Romans and leaving the pagan holiday a footnote that no one celebrates besides my friend Gary.
Calculation Theory: Early Christians believed that prophets and martyrs died on the same day they were conceived—I assume a second-century skeptic carved a scathing tablet debunking this, but it’s what many early Christians believed. Jesus’ martyrdom/conception was said to have happened on March 25, so his birth would be on Dec. 25 (assuming he was punctual.)
What do you think so far?
There are other theories—the date was chosen to coincide with Hannukah, Saturnalia, the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, or the Eagles/Bears game in 2006. The point is we don’t actually know, but it’s probably a “little from column A, a little from column B” situation. The Calculation Theory provided a theological justification for the date, and the Solar symbolism provided cultural relevance; both Jesus and Santa like when we work together, after all.
What is the true meaning of Christmas?
Ultimately, the murkiness around Jesus’ exact birthday isn’t important. Christmas doesn’t exist because a Roman bureaucrat wrote it on a calendar or some pagans wanted to blow off steam. Whether you celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Christ or a mid-winter celebration of light, the holiday’s meaning was been built collectively over centuries, and is molded and changed constantly to fit the needs and desires of the people who celebrate it. Whether that celebration is a somber religious expression or listening to Mariah Carey while drinking eggnog, it’s all good.
