When Was Jesus Really Born?
Dear Gentle Reader,
Christmas has come—and is nearly gone—for those of us in the United States. Those who attend church only on Christmas and Easter have performed their semiannual obligation, while many Christians have protested the substitution of the words “Happy Holidays” for “Merry Christmas” at chain department stores. Meanwhile, devout believers deplore the crass commercialism of the holiday, wondering how they could restore it to its earlier religious significance.
But wait. . . How certain are you that Jesus Christ was even born on December 25? Actually, I can tell you with 100% certainty that He was not. And it’s hard to understand why Christian ministers play along with the myth of a December 25th nativity. Let’s look at the history.
According to an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia that you can read online (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm), various dates were celebrated as Jesus’ nativity. The article cites Fazena Lupi as having shown that “. . . There is no month in the year to which respectable authorities have not assigned Christ’s birth.” However, the date of January 6 was observed until 354 A.D., when Christmas was changed to December 25.
The apparent reason for the change was the decision of Pope Damasus I in 380 A.D. to diminish the influence of pagan religion in which the birth of the sun god was honored at midnight on December 25. He therefore required everyone to attend a memorial of Christ's death at midnight, instead (the beginnings of Midnight Mass at Christmas.) Gradually, the Christ-Mass and the Nativity became inseparable.
Careful readers of the account of Jesus’ birth will note that shepherds were still out in the fields with their flocks, whereas late December would have been much too cold for animals to be unsheltered. In the Gospel of John’s first chapter we are told that Jesus came and “dwelt among us.” The original word for “dwelt” meant “lived in a tent or tabernacle,” a phrase leading many scholars to speculate that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles in September. If you want to read more about a likely date of Jesus’ birth, you can go to http://members.tripod.com/~PetraGrail/page5.html or
http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/sukkoth.htm
In any case, if contemporary Christian leaders truly wanted to avoid the commercialism of Christmas, they could encourage the worship of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles in September. Tabernacle-mas would be a holy day devoted to Jesus, without the distraction of Santa Claus or gift exchanges. But could Americans bear to deprive themselves of the feasting and gifting that have invaded the observation of Jesus’ birthday? What do you think?
Christmas has come—and is nearly gone—for those of us in the United States. Those who attend church only on Christmas and Easter have performed their semiannual obligation, while many Christians have protested the substitution of the words “Happy Holidays” for “Merry Christmas” at chain department stores. Meanwhile, devout believers deplore the crass commercialism of the holiday, wondering how they could restore it to its earlier religious significance.
But wait. . . How certain are you that Jesus Christ was even born on December 25? Actually, I can tell you with 100% certainty that He was not. And it’s hard to understand why Christian ministers play along with the myth of a December 25th nativity. Let’s look at the history.
According to an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia that you can read online (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm), various dates were celebrated as Jesus’ nativity. The article cites Fazena Lupi as having shown that “. . . There is no month in the year to which respectable authorities have not assigned Christ’s birth.” However, the date of January 6 was observed until 354 A.D., when Christmas was changed to December 25.
The apparent reason for the change was the decision of Pope Damasus I in 380 A.D. to diminish the influence of pagan religion in which the birth of the sun god was honored at midnight on December 25. He therefore required everyone to attend a memorial of Christ's death at midnight, instead (the beginnings of Midnight Mass at Christmas.) Gradually, the Christ-Mass and the Nativity became inseparable.
Careful readers of the account of Jesus’ birth will note that shepherds were still out in the fields with their flocks, whereas late December would have been much too cold for animals to be unsheltered. In the Gospel of John’s first chapter we are told that Jesus came and “dwelt among us.” The original word for “dwelt” meant “lived in a tent or tabernacle,” a phrase leading many scholars to speculate that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles in September. If you want to read more about a likely date of Jesus’ birth, you can go to http://members.tripod.com/~PetraGrail/page5.html or
http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/sukkoth.htm
In any case, if contemporary Christian leaders truly wanted to avoid the commercialism of Christmas, they could encourage the worship of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles in September. Tabernacle-mas would be a holy day devoted to Jesus, without the distraction of Santa Claus or gift exchanges. But could Americans bear to deprive themselves of the feasting and gifting that have invaded the observation of Jesus’ birthday? What do you think?
posted by Patty G. | 8:47 PM
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