The Gospels that discuss the birth of Jesus Christ (Mathew and Luke) make no mention either of a year or a time of year. Still it is consistent celebrated by Western Christians on 25 December and by Eastern Christians on 6 January.
The celebration of the Nativity on 6 January is the oldest practice, followed by the Early Church, and for Eastern Christians today that is still Christmas day. This timing was based on a reference by the early Greek scholar, Clement of Alexandria (died ca. 215 AD). In his Stromateis (I, xxi, 45), he wrote about the even earlier Greek teacher, Basilides, who flourished around 120-140 AD:
“And there are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord's birth, but also the day... And the followers of Basilides hold the day of his baptism as a festival… And they say that it was… the fifteenth day of the month Tubi; and some that it was the eleventh of the same month.”
11 and 15 Tubi are, respectively, 6 and 10 January. The festival that Clement refers to is the Feast of the Epiphany or Theophany, which today still celebrates primarily the baptism of Jesus later in Jesus’ life. Soon, though, 6 January was favored, and it also became the day of Christ’s birth.
At some point during the 4th century, Roman Christians broke away from that primarily Greek practice and moved the Feast of the Nativity to 25 December, a date that is now accepted by most Western Christians.
The reason was the Roman context. Christianity made slow progress and Rome remained predominantly pagan (non-Christian) until the 4th century. Then the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and efforts to assimilate the old Roman Pantheon of Gods to the Christian religion were increased.
For instance, a very popular pagan god was Deus Sol Invictus or “the Invincible Sun God”, whom Romans worshipped once a week on the “dies Solis”, which is still our “Sunday”. Constantine cleverly decreed that day to be a day of rest and worship in the Christian church.
Similarly, it made sense (in 350 AD) to move the Feast of Christ’s Nativity to the day of the festival of Sol Invictus’ yearly re-birth, the “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti” or the “Saturnalia”, which as of old took place on 25 December, i.e., the day of the Winter Solstice. By not disturbing the Roman calendar, by allowing pagan elements to adapt to Christianity, and by having Christ absorb, as it were, all the power of the old gods, the assimilation was smoother.
More about dating the Year of Jesus’ Birth
More about Christmas events:
- Detailed Timeline
- The Annunciation
- Journey to Bethlehem
- Christ is Born
- The Massacre of the Innocents and Flight to Egypt
Katrien Vander Straeten - Who am I? I am a Belgian living in Boston. I hold an MA in Communication Sciences, an MA in Philosophy, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy. ...
Join the Conversation