People are only just realising that Christmas wasn't always on 25th December
For many, Christmas Day, or December 25, is the most exciting day of the festive period - but it hasn't always been that way.
In the UK, advent calendars count down to Christmas Day for a reason. It's the day where families come together to swap presents, eat turkey, and spend time together. With its roots in religion, Christmas is the holiday which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ - but it hasn't always been celebrated on that particular day.
For the first three centuries of the existence of Christianity, Jesus' birth date wasn't celebrated at all. In fact, Jesus' date of birth isn't actually mentioned in the Bible - not even the time of year. Instead, the most signifiant religious holiday was Epiphany, which commemorated the arrival of the Magi after Jesus' birth, which falls on January 6.
Many have pointed out that the shepherds and their sheep wouldn't have been present if Jesus was born in the winter time (Archive Photos Creative)It wasn't until early in the Roman calendar, in AD 336, that the first official mention of December 25 as a holiday honouring Jesus' birthday first appeared. However, there are conflicting accounts of why this date came about.
The church in Rome began formally celebrating the date during the reign of emperor Constantine, and some have speculated whether the date was a political move so as to weaken the established pegan celebrations. It's thought he wanted the date to coincide with the existing festival honouring Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, and Mithra, the Persian god of light.
Lindsay Lohan glows in ultra rare public appearance with family at Fashion Week
A Roman Christian historian called Sextus Julius Africanus believed that Jesus was conceived on March 25, the same date he believed the world was created. Nine months later would result in Jesus being born on December 25.
However, the date of December 25 wasn't widely accepted in the Eastern Empire, who celebrated January 6 for another half a century. Christmas as we know it didn't become a major Christian festival until the ninth century.
Some scholars actually believe Jesus' actual birthday was closer to early spring, near Easter time, the holiday which commemorates his Resurrection. For example, in the Nativity story, the fact that shepherds and their sheep were present suggests a spring birth.
Another point surrounding Jesus' birth was that his parents Mary and Joseph commuted to Bethlehem for census, which apparently wouldn't have occurred in winter, because the turnout would have been too low.
And it turns out not everyone was aware that this was the case. One person took to X, formerly Twitter, to shared: "This really was the first year I stopped and realised Jesus was not born on December 25… someone just picked that date."
Another shared: "Me when [friend's name] tells me Jesus wasn't born on December 25th," followed by a shocked face.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
