[Old School Hound]

Why do Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25 ?  I'm sure all good Christians know this but the date has its origins in paganism.  The Roman Christian historian  Sextus Julius Africanus dated Jesus'  conception to March 25.  Add nine months... bing, bang, boom...  Dec. 25 !!!    In the third century, the Roman Empire celebrated the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun on Dec. 25th. This followed a popular Roman festival called the Saturnalia, during which people feasted and exchanged gifts(sound familiar???).

Also, Dec 25th was the birthday of Mithra,  a god of light and loyalty whose cult was growing in popularity among Roman soldiers at the time. Historically, that's why we all do what we are doing today( well, except for Jehovah's Witnesses, who think we are heretical celebrating a holiday with clear pagan origins... and it's hard to argue with them).

Also, let's be real. If Jesus was actually born, he most certainly was not born on December 25.  Why?  Well,  doesn't the Bible say that the shepherds were out in the fields tending to their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth.  This most certainly would have been in the warmer months and not in late December.  Also,  doesn't the Bible say that Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census.  These censuses were not done in the winter when temperatures would have been subfreezing and road conditions poor.

Astronomy may give us the answer to the "Star of Bethlehem" mentioned in the Bible. You may be familiar with the recent conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on Dec. 21, that some were calling the "Christmas Star."  Well,  on the morning of August 12, in 3 B.C., Jupiter and Venus would have been positioned just  1/10  of one degree apart in the dawn sky. That's  1/5   the diameter of a full moon.  How do we know this?  Because math and science doesn't lie. It's the reason we know when the next solar eclipse will occur, right down to the second, etc , etc...

Anyway, August 12, 3 B.C. wasn't the end of the show.  Venus and Jupiter continued their celestial dance over most of the next year before finally appearing to merge as a single star on June 17 , 2 B.C.  Could the "Star of Bethlehem"  have been this great conjunction of Jupiter and Venus?   Since I tend to err on the side of  science rather than superstition and magic ,  I'm going with the June 17 date instead of the pagan- derived December 25 .    I'll be opening my presents 174 days from now .   

Merry Christmas,  y'all  !!!

[Calvin_Gordon08]

I can't remember but I think it has something more to do with the convenience of the date along with the upcoming celebration for the new year. In Ancient Egypt, they also have five days of holidays. Either way, your take is an interesting read and worth considering. Thank y9ou.