The name “Christmas” comes from “Christ’s Mass”, referring to the church festival dedicated to the birth of Jesus. We don’t know the first year that churches observed it, but it may have happened fairly soon: after all, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke both portray the Nativity as something very special, so we’d expect that early Christians commemorated this miraculous event.
If they didn’t, it’s probably because they didn’t know when to the honor their savior’s birth. The Bible simply doesn’t tell us when it occurred. At best, Scripture might tell us the season during which Christ was born, but even that’s open to interpretation. For instance, Luke reports that, on the night of the Nativity, the shepherds were out grazing their flocks; sheep out on pasture suggests it was spring or summer, when grass would’ve been plentiful, rather than the colder months, when livestock were often kept in pens. But perhaps Judea had a mild winter that year.
For the first three centuries, there wasn’t any single Christmas date accepted by most churches. Clement of Alexandria, writing in 200 A.D., mentioned a number of different birthdays believed by the Christians of his time. The earliest record we have of Christmas being officially recognized as December 25th isn’t until 336 A.D.
So if the Bible doesn’t record Christ’s birthday, why was December 25th chosen? There are a couple theories: Under the old Julian calendar, that day coincided with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. And so, that day was long associated with the birth of the Sun, since the days became a little longer, and the Sun a little older, from that point forward. Since scripture often compared Jesus to the Sun, it was natural for Christians to link the two.
Of course, the pagans worshipped several solar deities, so the winter solstice held religious significance for them as well. This comparison has given rise to a bunch of conspiracies. The most widespread accuses the Church of picking December 25th to copy their rivals; by making their faith more familiar to pagans, it would appeal more to potential converts. These claims tend to cite the cult of Sol Invictus, who had an obscure festival on the winter solstice, to bolster their argument. Yet this myth overstates the importance of Sol Invictus, who was only a minor god within the Roman pantheon. In fact, Sol Invictus wasn’t even officially recognized by the Empire until the Emperor Aurelian instituted his cult in the year 274, long after Christianity had flourished. If anything, Aurelian may have pushed Sol Invictus to steal some thunder from Christianity, rather than the other way around. The idea that Christians rebranded a pagan festival simply has no historical basis. While some pagan customs were later absorbed in
to the celebration of Christmas, like the Saturnalia, it certainly wasn’t a scheme orchestrated by anyone; it was merely the coincidence of two independent traditions existing alongside each other, sort of like how Christmas and Hannukah interact now; yet neither holiday was ever the source of the other. Any pagan trappings that Christmas acquired were no different than how Santa and elves and reindeer have become entwined with the Christmas season today, despite having nothing to do with the Nativity.
Other ancient men calculated Christmas by focusing on the date Jesus was conceived, rather than when he was born. Of course, that approach shares the same problem, as the Bible also doesn’t tell us when Mary became pregnant. Some still tried to deduce it: Sextus Julius Africanus, a church historian during the third century, reasoned that Jesus was conceived on March 25th. Adding nine months to that conception date would mean that Jesus was born on December 25th. Hippolytus reached a similar conclusion; he argued that the Holy Spirit planted the seed in the virgin womb on the spring equinox, which is when farmers would’ve been sowing their fields. He also felt that the prophecies would be the most seamless if Christ was conceived on the same day he died.
Ultimately, the tradition that Jesus was born on December 25th is just that: a tradition. But that doesn’t make Christmas any less meaningful: while it would be wonderful to know the exact date on which Jesus was born, that’s not what’s important. What truly matters to Christians is that their savior was born into this world. And even if Christians could commemorate his birth on any other day of the year, most chose December 25th as the time they would join their voices and praise their newborn king together.
Similar: Bible Project; InspiringPhilosophy; ReligionForBreakfast
