However, there’s evidence that some Christians recognized December 25 as Christmas in the 200s AD. “A marginal note on a manuscript of the writings of the Syriac biblical commentator Dionysius bar-Salibi states that in ancient times the Christmas holiday was actually shifted from January 6 to December 25 so that it fell on the same date as the pagan Sol Invictus holiday,” reads an excerpt from Biblical Archaeology.Ĭould early Christians have chosen December 25 to coincide with this holiday? “The first celebration of Christmas observed by the Roman church in the West is presumed to date to ,” per the Encyclopedia Romana, long after Aurelian established Sol Invictus’ festival. ![]() Around 274 AD, Emperor Aurelian set December 25-the winter solstice at the time-for the celebration of Sol Invictus who was the “Unconquered Sun” god. If the Christians didn’t choose the Saturnalia, then the festival of Sol Invictus is a tempting alternative. Aside from this, the problem with the theory of Christians placing Christmas on the Saturnalia is that the ancient festival lasted from December 17-23, not December 25. After all, many of the ancient Romans were so perverted that they would have landed on Santa’s naughty list. Whatever their reasoning, some believed the Christians placed Christmas on the joyous December Roman holiday known as the Saturnalia, which the Roman poet Catullus called “the best of times.” The Saturnalia celebrated the god Saturn, and during the festival, Romans ate and drank to excess slaves sat at the masters’ tables and were served by their owners and the Romans exchanged small gifts-some of which were probably a little inappropriate to modern eyes. Alternatively, Christians may have done so to help them blend in as they celebrated their savior, while also avoiding detection during times of persecution. They may have done this to co-opt some of the pagan’s festivities to either attract new adherents or supplant the pagan religions altogether. So, “they simply assimilated the pagan solstice festival for their own purposes, claiming it as the time of the Messiah’s birth and celebrating it accordingly,” according to Biblical Archaeology. While it is possible that this date is accurate, academics have proffered other theories, including that December 25 was chosen to coincide with pagan celebrations or because of a kind of metaphysical math.Īccording to one popular theory, early Christians had no idea when Christ was born. While to this day the Armenian church celebrates Christmas on January 6, the bulk of Christians have settled on December 25, but why? There are a few schools of thought.įor some faithful, they certainly believe that December 25 was, in fact, the date of Christ’s birth-end of story. Nevertheless, following many years, Christians began debating when Christ was born, and they produced a slew of dates, including some in January, March, April, May, November, and of course, December. Rather, celebrating gods’ birthdays seemed like a distinctly pagan activity to many early church leaders. ![]() Contrary to Roman practices, Jews and early Christians at the time didn’t place much importance on birthdates. The fact that the gospels’ authors chose not to include a date shouldn’t be viewed as a glaring oversight. For one, the gospels fail to disclose when Jesus was born, although the Gospel of Luke mentions shepherds and sheep at the time of the nativity, which intimates a springtime birth.
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