Why do we Celebrate Christmas on December 25th?
Why do we celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25th? The Bible provides few details that help us determine a date. So how did the Church land on December 25th as Jesus’ birthday?
Interestingly enough, some Early Church leaders actually argued against trying to determine a date for Jesus’ birthday. Instead, the emphasis was on Jesus’ death and on the specific days and events leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection (since those details are given in Scripture). Since there is so little information about Jesus’ birth, the Early Church was always content to simply emphasize the virgin birth without knowing when exactly Jesus was born.
The early evidence shows that it wasn’t until the late 2nd Century until people started trying to figure out what date Jesus was born. By 336 AD, the emperor Constantine established December 25th as the date when Christians celebrate Christ’s birth. He didn’t choose a random date. Christians had discussed various dates for this celebration, and December 25th must have become an established precedent for quite some time beforehand, for Constantine often chose the most widely attested viewpoint since it would receive the least controversy. Andrew McGowan’s article “How December 25 Became Christmas” is excellent and really helpful for a deeper dive into this question.
Why Does This Matter for Youth Ministers?
Is this the biggest issue facing teenagers today? No. Definitely not. But will this topic spark some good conversations with students about the meaning of Christmas? Absolutely. Church kids are often bored with the same old Christmas message they’ve heard their entire lives, and unchurched kids probably think Christmas is an example of cultural appropriation (theory one below). This article isn’t intended to be a message that you’d teach as a lesson in your ministry, but I trust it will prompt some new and meaningful conversations.
Three Popular Theories
The Pagan Connection
The most popular explanation for the date claims the Church selected December 25th because of pagan celebrations during the same season. It is argued that the Church assumed more people would embrace Christmas if it was seen as a replacement-option from their pagan holiday. However, this actual theory was never voiced until the 12th Century. This doesn’t mean the pagan connection is false, merely that it wasn’t presented as the motivation for celebrating Christ’s birth on December 25th until the 12th Century.
McGowan offers this explanation:
“There are problems with this popular theory, however, as many scholars recognize. Most significantly, the first mention of a date for Christmas (c. 200) and the earliest celebrations that we know about (c. 250–300) come in a period when Christians were not borrowing heavily from pagan traditions of such an obvious character.”
However much or little the earliest Christmas celebrations borrowed from pagan tradition may be up for debate, but it seems like a stretch to say Christmas was placed on December 25 as a way to “Christianize” a pagan holiday. Later generations of Christians undoubtedly borrowed from pagan holidays. Many of us have heard this as the definitive reason for the date of Christmas, and maybe it is, but it’s not as much of an open-and-shut case as many would lead you to believe.
The Annunciation/Crucifixion Connection
The second theory for why the Church chose this date has to do with the date of Christ’s death. Tertullian determined March 25th as the date for Jesus’ death, based on when the Passover took place. March 25th is exactly nine months before December 25th, and therefore December 25th was selected as the date for Christ’s birth. According to early Christian tradition, the day of Jesus’ death was also the same date as the Annunciation (when Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah). This is why artwork of the annunciation includes images of baby Jesus holding a cross or with a cross in the background. Jesus was born as the lamb of God who would be sacrificed to take away the sin of the world.
Some people object against a December birthday because shepherds didn’t typically keep their sheep outside during the cold winter months and would have taken their flocks elsewhere, where it would be warmer. But we do know that shepherds who raised sheep that would be offered as temple sacrifices kept them in the nearby hills so they were readily available for pilgrims and worshippers. This corresponds with the Migdal Eder theory of where Jesus.
The Eastern Church celebrates the Annunciation on April 6th, thus Christmas is observed on January 6th. The days between December 25 and January 6 are known as the twelve days of Christmas. Regardless of the difference between the Western and Eastern celebrations, the dates of Christmas are directly related to the Annunciation (not determined by attempts to “Christianize” pagan holidays).
This theory has support dating from the 300’s. Most significantly, Augustine (widely regarded as the most important theologian in Church History) references this as his explanation for Christmas celebrations on December 25th. Whether it seems far-fetched or not, the Church’s tradition clearly places his death and the Annunciation as happening on the same date of the year.
Spring, Based off John the Baptist’s Birth
A final view is based off John the Baptist’s birthday. John’s father, Zecheriah, was a priest in the line of Abijah. While he was offering incense before the altar of God, the LORD promised him a son: John. Later, when Mary was pregnant, she went to visit her elderly cousin who was also miraculously pregnant: Elizabeth, John’s mother. The angel Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was six months pregnant at the time of the annunciation (Luke 1:36). So, Jesus’s birthday is roughly six months after John’s.
As a priest in the line of Abijah, Zecheriah would serve in the temple twice each year. One of those times would take place during the rainy season when travel would be difficult, making it an unlikely time for governors to call for a census. That means his temple service likely took place during the late-Spring. We don’t know how much time elapsed between his service in the temple and Elizabeth’s pregnancy, but it was most likely a short time. Accordingly, Elizabeth became pregnant in May/June, gave birth to John the Baptist in February/March, and then Jesus would be born six months later in August/September.
Joseph Lenard has a helpful explanation, though there’s definitely plenty of room here for further scholarly research. This is the least discussed theory that I believe holds some credibility. But, of course, it runs contrary to church tradition and it’s difficult to determine when Zecheriah’s service in the temple actually took place. My gut tells me that if we could easily discover when he was in the temple, then the early Christians would’ve had an easier time finding an answer to that same question - and they didn’t. Or, maybe they did - and that’s why they celebrated Jesus’ birth in December/January.
Why We Still Celebrate With Joy
We may not celebrate Jesus’ birth on the exact “right” calendar date, but if that was crucial then God would’ve included those details in Scripture. To me, the second theory seems like a more reasonable explanation for how the Church landed on December 25th as the day to celebrate Christmas.
McGowan concludes his article with this,
“In the end we are left with a question: How did December 25 become Christmas? We cannot be entirely sure. Elements of the festival that developed from the fourth century until modern times may well derive from pagan traditions. Yet the actual date might really derive more from Judaism—from Jesus’ death at Passover, and from the rabbinic notion that great things might be expected, again and again, at the same time of the year—than from paganism.”
Ultimately, the specific date when Jesus was born is not as important as HOW or WHY he was born. The good news of Christmas is this: God entered into his creation and gave himself to rescue us from sin.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17
