Dec 25th is not the birthday of Christ. Why is Christmas celebrated then?
25th of December, which is celebrated as Christmas, is widely believed to be the birthday of Christ. What if I say, it’s not? Why is it celebrated then? And if it’s not the birthdate of Christ, then why do most people have this misconception?
To tell the truth, Jesus Christ’s birthday isn’t actually mentioned anywhere in any Christian scriptures. This is the reason, the earliest Christians never celebrated his birthday. Interestingly enough, they had focused the celebration on the death date instead, as Jesus himself had called for this celebration, according to Bible. This date is believed by some to be April 3, while others believe it to be March 25. The date of March 25 here, is of special significance.
25th of March is considered to be the date when Adam and Eve were created when Lucifer fell from heaven and many other crucial Bible events. In short, March 25 is considered to be a holy date in Christianity. Due to this reason, the conception of Jesus is believed to have occurred on this date. Nine months from that – December 25! This is the primary reason December 25th was selected to be the birth date of Jesus. Yet, this claim is put under serious question by historians as the Bible mentions that ‘shepherds watching over sheep in the field at night when Jesus was born’. Which is quite impossible in the chilly weather of December.
Did Constantine make December 25th Christmas?
It is claimed Christmas was first celebrated in 336 AD by the Roman Emperor Constantine as a ‘nativity feast’. Emperor Constantine was a Pagan devotee who converted to Christianity in 312 AD. There are different stories about him seeing Jesus Christ in his dream, which led him to this conversion. It is believed that he was the person who established the tradition of celebrating Christmas on December 25th.
During his life and rule, Constantine was an avid follower of Christianity, who not only made many Churches but also liberated Christians from Roman prosecutions. From his devotion, it can easily be said that he would have wished for the Pagan Romans to accept Christianity. But to be able to make people be accommodating towards a new religion isn’t an easy task. What other alternatives might work in this case? Of course, align it with pre-existing traditions. Hence, it is very possible that he intentionally coincided with the Christian celebration with a pre-existing Pagan festival called ‘Saturnalia’. Saturnalia was celebrated by the Romans as worship of Saturn, the god of agriculture and time. Feasts were held and even prisoners were released for the celebration of this festival. Some historians deny this though, by pointing out that Saturnalia ends on December 23rd and Romans celebrated many festivals throughout the year.
What does the word ‘Christmas’ mean?
The word Christmas was previously called ‘Christ’s Mass’, ‘Crīstesmæsse‘ in 1038 AD, and ‘Cristesmaesse’, Cristes-messe’ in the 11 or 12 th centuries. It also had names like ‘a feast of nativity (birth of Jesus)’ in ancient Rome, and Noel, or Yuel in European.
The word ‘Christmas’ means ‘mass for christ’. As the name suggests, there are three masses on Christmas, which are Midnight, Dawn, and Day mass. The Christians go to church to attend these masses that celebrate the nativity of Jesus. Each specified gospel for the masses is read and the prayers are sung by the participants with the accompaniment of a choir. Some churches also include children’s programs including the performing choirs and enactment of the birth story of Jesus Christ by children.
