Why is Christmas Celebrated on the 25th of December?
It’s December and the holiday season is upon us. It is the time of the year when the streets are decked up and stores have fancy displays. However, although many of us know that Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, not many are aware of there is no clear evidence of Jesus being born on December 25. As we get into the Christmas spirit let’s take a look at why the festival is celebrated on this date.
Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25?
The real date of Jesus Christ’s birth is unknown as no exact date or even month is given in the Bible, then why do we celebrate it on December 25.
The first known date we have about the celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25 is the year 336 during the reign of Emperor Constantine.
In the Roman Calendar, December 25 was the festival of Sol Invictus, who was considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. The day was also celebrated as the winter solstice.
After Constantine made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, pagan customs would often be baptized and made Christian.
This made it simpler for the people to adopt the new religion as they could be Christian and still celebrate all the festivals they did before.
However, Winter Solstice wasn’t the primary reason behind selecting the date.
The Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus dated Jesus’ conception to March 25. Nine months ahead of which, comes December 25.
At the time, March 25 was believed to be the day that the world was created, and it also happened to fall on the Spring Equinox.
Even today, the Catholic Church celebrates March 25 as the Feast of the Annunciation, which marks the conception of Jesus.
Eventually, as the Julian Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar, the date of December 25 stuck, despite the fact wasn’t quite on the solstice anymore.
Regardless of the history, December 25th is now firmly set in modern calendars as the birth of Jesus Christ and the festival of Christmas.