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[Rob.Ellison]

Origins of Christmas and Jesus' Birthday

The actual date of the birth of Jesus is not known; however it was probably not in December, since shepherds would not be grazing their flocks and living outdoors in Palestine’s winter.

Many scholars believe that Jesus was actually born some time in 4 BC, when Emperor Augustus decreed a census throughout the Roman empire. They base this surmise on the following verses from the Book of Luke:

2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Casesar
Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cryrenius was governor of Syria.)

2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto
the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage
of David.)

2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child
.
2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accompolished that she
should be delivered.

The date of Christmas and many Christmas customs, like Hanukka, are based on much old Solstice customs when the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs between the 20th and 22nd December, and because this is the longest night and shortest day of the year, it is often celebrated with lights and fire.

Yule - In ancient pagan times, the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was celebrated as the night that the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God.

It is also called Yule, the day a huge log is added to a bonfire, around which everyone would dance and sing to awaken the sun from its long winter sleep.., many of the ancient Yuletide traditions were concerned with coping with the darkness and the evils it was thought to harbor. Evergreens and holly were one such tradition. They both were green amid the winter whiteness and a natural symbol of rebirth and life.

Holly, in particular, was used to decorate doors, windows and fireplaces. It was believed that the prickliness of the holly would snag or capture evil spirits before they could enter and harm the household. The Yule goat, from Sweden and Norway, had its beginnings as a carrier for the god Thor. Now the Yule goat carries the Yule elf, or Christmas Tomte, when he makes his rounds to deliver presents and receive offerings of porridge.

Yule has always been a time of peace and charity. Work had to be reduced to a minimum; and neither bird, beast nor fish could be trapped, shot or netted. Because Christian missionaries did not reach these countries until the tenth and eleventh centuries allowing the old traditions to settle into the lives of the people and not be easily dismantled by Christian imagery and meanings, many of the Christmas traditions of the Scandinavian countries go back to the Yuletide folklore.

As the numbers of Christians and their customs began to prevail, their celebration took on a Christian content. However, nobody was sure when Jesus was born, so Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Rosh Hashanah (New Year).


The early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136 AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Savior."

In the year 274 Ad, the Roman emperor, Aurelian proclaimed December 25, as “Natalis Solis Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun.

In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birh of Jeus Christ.

In 325 AD, Constantine the great, the first Christian Roman emperor, decreed that the birth would be celebrated on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced Easter.

In 354 AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December.

However, even though Constantine officiated 25 December as the birthday of Christ, Christmas failed to gain universal recognition among Christians until the middle 18th century as some Protestant areas banned the celebrated of Christmas.

In England, for example, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas festivities between 1649 and 1660 through the so-called “Blue Laws,” believing that Christmas should be a solemn day.

In the US, Canada and Great Britain, Christmas gained popularity because of the popularization of “Santa Claus,” and because of Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol” story, (published in 1834). Up until this time, even the US Congress met and worked on Christmas Day. Soon after, Christmas became a legal holiday in all states of the United States.

The Christmas holiday has only begun to be celebrated in its current form in modern times.


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