Was Jesus really born on Dec. 25?
• Probably not! We simply do not and cannot know the exact day on which Jesus was actually born. • However, Jesus’ birth has been celebrated on Dec. 25 since the early fourth century, when most of the Roman Empire adopted the Christian religion. It replaced the mid-winter Roman festival of “the birth of the sun god” (sol invictus), celebrated just after the winter solstice. • The fact that we don’t know the exact historical day or date of Jesus’ birth should not bother anyone, or mean that Dec. 25 is somehow “wrong.” In some countries and cultures, even in today’s world, the exact day or date of a baby’s birth is not remembered or celebrated. When such people move to another culture that places greater importance on the date of people’s births, they must choose a date randomly. • Even when someone’s birth date is known, the day on which they celebrate it may be different for various reasons: a family might gather on a nearby weekend rather than on a weekday; an office or community migh
