What is the purpose of the Christmas Celebration? The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, which celebrates the nativity (Latin “Nativitas”) or birth of Jesus Christ.
Curiously, it has been proved historically and biblically that Jesus was not born on December, but somewhere between September and October.
DATING THE BIRTH OF JESUS
The Bible does not give us the exact date of Jesus’ birth. Maybe
God did not want us to give it relevance, unlike the date of His death, which
we know was on the 14th of the month of Nissan, the day of the
Passover, and the date of His resurrection, which was on that Sunday, during
the Feast of First Fruits.
Although no one knows the exact date of his birth, we can infer
the approximate time of year, by looking at some indications given in the
Scriptures.
From the text in Luke 1:5-14 we know the
approximate dates when John the Baptist was conceived, since his father
Zechariah was serving in the Temple in Jerusalem. He belonged to the order of
the priests who had the eight turn of service in the Temple
As for Jesus, we know he was born 6 months after John.
(Luke 1:23-27) And when his time of service was ended,
he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for
five months she kept herself hidden, saying, "Thus the Lord has done for
me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among
people." In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city
of Galilee named Nazareth
(Luke 1:34-37) And Mary said to the angel, "How
will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. And
behold, your relative Elizabeth
Given these facts, we know that John was born around the time of
the Passover Feast (March/April) and that Jesus was born six months later
(September/October), precisely when the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated.
If Jesus was born in December, it would have been too cold for
sheep and shepherds to be out in the field. Shepherds left their sheep outside
their shelters during the summer, up until the first rains started in October.
(Luke 2:6-8) And while they were there, the time
came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped
him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place
for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
If we know that Jesus was born in October, why do we celebrate
his birth on December the 25th?
THE 25TH OF DECEMBER
The date December the 25th is related with the roman Saturnalia,
a festival celebrating the “birth of the sun-god” (Latin Natalis Invicti
Solis; literally: the birth of the invincible sun) during the week of the
winter solstice.
This was a pagan festival. However, the roman church began to
merge many pagan festivals with biblical themes, with the intention of
attracting more people to the Christian religion, since many did not want to
leave their pagan customs and traditions. For this reason, in the year 350 AD
the pope Julius I requested that the birth of Christ be celebrated on December the
25th, the date when the Saturnalia feast culminated. In the year 529
AD Emperor Justinian declared Christmas to be a Roman Civil Holiday.
This information is common knowledge. It may be found in any
encyclopedia or book about the subject. Many
know this already. It is known throughout the church. Even so, people are still
determined to celebrate the birth of Christ in December. Why? Because the
reason for Christmas is even more than just its date. Because tradition weighs
more that the truth.
However, we are interested in discovering the truth, and that is
what we are set out to do. In the next publication we will continue searching
about the origin of Christmas and its traditions…
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