Christmas is the USA’s most popular holiday, annually celebrated by more than 90% of the populace. Yet some people who believe in Jesus as Savior don’t feel they should celebrate His birthday, or not at the generally accepted season. Maybe they don’t think December 25 was really His human birth date. Maybe they disapprove of the ungodly heathen or wrong trappings which became attached to the celebration. Or they don’t see the celebration commanded by God in the Bible. And ‘Christmas Break’ is now called ‘Winter Break’. This topic examines these issues, and offers a reasonable conclusion.
Many myths and legends began with an element of real truth or fact…where there’s smoke there’s fire. That’s the case with Christmas traditions. That Jesus was born and lived as a human is truth/fact. The historians Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny refer to Him, all writing prior to 120 AD. But then…questionable or objectionable customs and embellishments were added over the centuries. e.g. Santa Claus, holly & mistletoe, wass-ale-ing, party spirit, xmas ham, excess materialism or greed.
Before Christ, religious sects in Israel also attached ritual customs to the Lord’s holydays. And religious activity such as prayer, immersion in water, waving tree/palm branches, e.g…were customs of pagans too! Should Christians avoid these practices just because the heathen did them for their gods? The observance of Jesus’ birth spread among countries & cultures which attached pagan elements to His birth. But did these early Christians remain heathens at heart?
The Bible also reflects occasions which were added, not commanded by God. ref Est.9:19 Purim; Jg.11:39-40; Zec.8:19. Hánukkah was attended by Jesus (Jn.10:22-23). It commemorated the defeat of Antíochus Epíphanes in the 160s BC, rededicating the altar and cleansing the temple. 1Mac.4:52-59 & 2Mac.10:5-9 the Jewish people (not God) ordained Hanukkah by common statute (2Mac.10:8). This man-ordained occasion begins on Kíslev 25 (in our Nov-Dec)! Perhaps Jesus was born or conceived during Hanukkah, the eight-day ‘Festival of Lights’. Let’s closely examine His time of birth.
The supposed old Jewish tradition of ‘integral age’ said a great prophet was born or conceived and died on the same date. Jesus died during Passover week, around Apr 1.
Historically, Jesus’ human birth was set at: May 20, Apr 17, Mar 28, and Jan 6 (‘12 days of Christmas’ after Dec 25?) in the early Eastern church, Armenian, Coptic, Russian Orthodox.
Some think Jesus was born near a Sep 25 Rosh Hashánah, His conception being the previous Dec 25 Hanukkah. But Rosh Hashanah was still the time of grape and fig processing, and for regional dates and pomegranates. Agriculture provided tax revenues to Rome! It seems unlikely that Rome would purposely antagonize Jews by requiring an agricultural society to travel to their old ancestral locales for a census (Lk.2:1-6) at this busy season. The slow period for plowing, sowing, reaping was Dec–Feb.
Following is a capsule review of Jesus’ Nativity, tying together the accounts of Luke and Matthew. Lk.1:5-25 the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, who was serving in the temple. He tells Zacharias that his elderly wife Elizabeth will bear a son named John. Zacharias was of the priestly course of Abijáh. 1Ch.24:1, 5, 7, 10 Jehoiaríb’s was the 1st weekly course, Abijáh’s the 8th; each was sabbath-to-sabbath. If Zacharias saw Gabriel in June, then that could place the birth of John the Baptizer near Passover (customarily set a plate for Elijah), with Jesus’ birth 6 months later near September 25. But if he saw Gabriel October 1, then John was born 9 months later near July 1, and Jesus near January 1.
Lk.1:26-60 Gabriel’s Annunciation to Mary. Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus and travels 75 miles south from Nazareth of Galilee to visit her elderly aunt Elizabeth, who is 6 months pregnant with John (near Bethlehem or Hebrón in Judea). Mary stays with Elizabeth for 3 months and John is born. Upon Mary’s return to Galilee, her fiancée Joseph now sees she is 3-4 months pregnant. What?! Mt.1:18-25 in a dream an angel tells Joseph of the forthcoming miraculous virgin birth, and Joseph will wed Mary.
Lk.2:1-8 just before Mary goes into labor, she and Joseph travel 4 days south to Bethlehem, which is 6 miles south of Jerusalem. They must go to this rather distant town of Joseph’s ancestors to register for Augustus’ census. v.3 “All were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city.”
{Sidelight: This most likely wasn’t Feast of Tabernacles (FOT) time. At FOT time, Joseph, their male relatives (and the shepherds too, Lk.2:8) would’ve gone to Jerusalem as commanded by God…not to Bethlehem or other original Israelite tribal areas/towns for census purposes. ref De.16:11, 16, 12:11, 14:23-25; Je.7:12; 1Ki.14:21; Lk.2:41. From the days of Solomon, the only location where God authorized pilgrim feasts be kept is Jerusalem, where the central sanctuary was…and never at two or more locations simultaneously! (see “Feasts of the Lord and the Jews”.) Ellicott Commentary Lk.2:7 “There was no room for them at the inn’. The town was crowded with persons who had come to be registered.”}
Lk.2:9-38 as Jesus is born, the shepherds witness His glorious Birth-day celebration in the heavens! v.13-14 “Suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men.” Then while staying at a (relative’s?) house in Bethlehem, Jesus’ ‘parents’ bring Him to the temple for circumcision, and then for Mary’s purification 40 days after giving birth (Lk.2:21-24, ref Le.12:1-8).
Probably the wise men/mági haven’t arrived yet with their expensive gifts, since Mary could only afford to offer two turtledoves (Lk.2:24), not a more expensive lamb. Anna and witnesses begin to make knowledge of Jesus public. (Lk.2:39 Luke’s account skips the magi visit and the holy family’s soon-coming flight to Egypt before returning home to Galilee.)
Mt.2:1-11 perhaps very soon after the purification offering, wise men or magi arrive at the Bethlehem house, bringing expensive gifts. They came from Arabia (ref Is.60:6 gold & frankincense), or Babylon (ref Da.5:11 the Jewish prophet Daniel had been appointed chief of the wise men in Babylon) or Persia. Joseph likely was needing to return to his Nazareth business…supposedly he’s of modest means.
Opinions vary about what the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ was…a great comet, supernova, visible conjunction of heavenly bodies, an angel, the shekínah glory returning after 500 years to conceive Jesus, or something else supernatural? ref Nu.24:17, Is.9:1-2, Ezk.11:23. Maybe the wise men saw the “star” 10 months previously, or maybe only 41 days previously? It is thought that a small camel caravan could travel 15–20 miles a day, each carrying 200–300 lbs. At that rate, a 700-mile journey could take 35–45 days.
After giving gifts, the magi depart. Mary will treasure in her heart (Lk.2:19) the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ miraculous birth…the shepherd’s vision (Lk.2:8-20), the magi visit and their account of seeing the star, etc. Mary will pass it on to Jesus’ disciples and others. (see “Jesus’ Virgin Birth”.)
Mt.2:12-18 upon the magi’s departure, the family will leave Bethlehem. But in a dream an angel warns Joseph not to travel 75 miles north to Nazareth…but instead take a (200-mile?) detour WSW to Egypt, to avoid Herod the Great. Very soon Herod will murder all Bethlehem infants who are in their second year or under…7 to 20 infants, based upon population estimates. Having just received valuable gifts from the wise men, the family now has the wherewithal to afford the sojourn in Egypt (whereas they could only afford to sacrifice two turtledoves on the 40th day of purification, Lk.2:22-24).
Mt.2:19-23 an angel in another dream tells Joseph of Herod’s death. (Josephs had significant dreams, cf. Ge.37:5-ff!) The family returns home to Nazareth…perhaps via the Way of the Sea, to avoid ethnarch Archeláus in Judea.
In what calendar month was Jesus born? Early Christians ‘fathers’ wrote:
Justin Mártyr (100–165 AD) said Jesus was born at Bethlehem, “As you can ascertain also from the registers of the taxing made under [Quirínius] your first procurator in Judea”. (First Apology, 34)
Tertullian (160–250 AD) “His [Joseph’s] enrollment in the census of Augustus, that most faithful witness of the Lord’s nativity, kept in the archives at Rome.” (Against Marcion 4:7:7) The census of Lk.2:1-5 was documented.
Hippólytus (165–236 AD) “The first advent of our Lord in the flesh, born in Bethlehem eight days before the kalends [1st] of January.” (Commentary on Daniel 4:23:3) That was inclusively Dec 25.
Cyril of Jerusalem (348–386 AD) reportedly asked Julius, bishop of Rome, to assign the true date of Jesus’ birth “from census documents brought by Titus to Rome”. Julius assigned Dec 25. That would place Jesus’ conception near the previous Passover (which corresponds to ‘integral age’ tradition).
Wikipedia: Christmas “A traditional Jewish belief [was] that great men were born and died on the same day. Jesus was therefore considered to have been conceived on March 25, as He died on March 25 [Tertullian]. In 221 AD, Sextus Julius Africánus gave March 25 as the day of…the conception of Jesus in his universal history. St Ephráim [306-373 AD] taught that the date of the conception of Jesus Christ fell on 10 Nisán of the Hebrew calendar, the day in which the passover lamb was selected according to Exodus 12. Some years 10 Nisan falls on March 25 [Apr 6 old Julian calendar].”
Chrýsostom (347–407 AD) said a Dec 25 date was verified by actual census/tax records of Joseph registering in Bethlehem. Chrysostom taught that John the Baptizer’s father Zacharias was serving on the Day of Atonement (late Sep/early Oct) when Gabriel appeared to him. Lk.1:10 a “multitude” at the temple indicates it was a sabbath or a feast day. That would place the birth of John the Baptizer around July 1 (and Jesus’ birth six months later, around Jan 1).
In 70 AD Sunday Aug 5 (the 9th of Av) the temple was destroyed. The 1st priestly course of Jehoiarib was serving then (ref Talmud Olam Rabbah and Alfred Edersheim). If the priestly service order had remained unbroken for decades, 70 years earlier was Zacharias’ service course of Abijah in early Oct?
The Jewish Christian historian Alfred Edersheim wrote in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, p.131, There are temple flocks (at Bethlehem) that “remain in the open alike in the hottest days and the rainy season, i.e. all year round”. Winter temperatures there are similar to those in Houston, TX.
Shepherds witnessed the heavenly Birth-day celebration! Wise men gave gifts to the infant King Jesus (birthdays of kings were celebrated). Christ’s spirit is within Christians via the Holy Spirit. Col.1:27 “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Many Christians celebrate Christmas by exchanging gifts.
However, an eternal Santa Claus (with hair white like wool, like snow, cf. Re.1:14) annually bringing gifts is a lie and counterfeits the glorified Jesus Christ. Commercialism obscures and detracts from the proclaimed ‘reason for the season’. Purchasers suffer too much credit card debt, sometimes the result of trying to outdo others in gift-giving. And those old census records no longer survive. Nevertheless….
If it wasn’t for Christ’s life…there would be no Christmas bearing His title! Mal.4:2 the Sun/Son of Righteousness so far outshines former sun-gods, those pagan gods don’t even come to the minds of Christians who annually celebrate Christmas! The origin of a custom doesn’t always determine its present meaning. Celebrating Jesus’ birth is not only for the Roman Catholic Christ-mass (the mass began 1000 AD). A Chicago suburban “Calvary Church” isn’t accused of worshiping a skull and the goddess Círce! 1Co.3:5 Apollos, in spite of his heathen god name, was the Lord’s servant.
Obsolete meanings don’t apply. Our worshiping God/Christ on Saturday or Sunday or Monday doesn’t make us Saturn or Sun or Moon worshipers! ref Ralph Woodrow’s Christmas Reconsidered (recommended reading). He notes that it would be futile to spend our lives trying to eradicate pagan terms which permeate all of society! e.g. the term “janitor” is from the god Jánus. Ezk.8:14 Támmuz was anciently a pagan god. Yet the month of Tammuz is Jun-Jul on the present Jewish calendar. It’s from the Babylonian exile (cf. the month Nisan occurs Mar-Apr).
The designations BC/AD and BCE/CE, relating to our calendar, pivot around Christ’s birth! Truth be told…He was born sometime, praise God…although we don’t know exactly when!
What about the Christmas tree custom? Je.10:3-5 “They cut down a tree. The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They beautify it with silver and gold. They fasten it, it does not stumble. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field (upright as a palm tree), they cannot speak, they cannot walk.” This is about idol worship, not a Christmas tree! A scarecrow is a man’s image, not a tree’s image. A scarecrow scares away birds, whereas a tree attracts birds…the opposite! Gill Exposition Je.10:3 “A tree cut down with an axe, planed with a plane and formed into the image of a man or some creature.” Life Application Bible Note “Those who put their trust in a chunk of wood, even though it is carved well and clothed beautifully, are foolish.” Scarecrows and metal-plated gods can’t talk or walk.
Compare the Epistle of Jeremiah 1:70 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber garden, guarding nothing, so are their wooden gods, plated with silver and gold.” v.7-10 “These gods of silver, gold and wood with clothing like humans, but they cannot preserve themselves.” The book of Jeremiah and the epistle of Jeremiah both refer to the same idols.
Is.44:13 “Another shapes wood, works it with planes, and makes it like the form of a man.” (also Is.40:19-20) Ps.115:4-7 “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. They have mouths but they cannot speak; eyes but they cannot see; ears but they cannot hear, feet but they cannot walk.” (Je.10:5 is in the center margin xref!) cf. De.4:28. Such graven images were figurines or teraphím household gods (Ge.31:19, 34-35; 1Sm.19:13)…idols in human shape. They weren’t Christmas trees.
Who today really worships a Christmas tree anyway? Some few. Yet it has symbolic meaning.
Re.22:1-2 “The tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit.” An ever-green Christmas tree became symbolic of the tree of life, which was traditionally decorated with fruits & nuts. (see the topic, “Tree Symbolism in Scripture”.) The USA began the tree custom after 1830 AD. Churches that put up a tree, with lights and a figurative Star of Bethlehem at the top…they and other organizations may also feed or give gifts to the needy then! The magi gave gifts; and Hanukkah too is a time of gift-giving.
Many, if not most, customs aren’t evil. Some secular radio stations play hymns only in December at Christmas time…and the Name of Jesus spreads! Praise the Lord! Many Christmas carols are inspiring. Php.1:15-18 Paul rejoiced because Christ is preached, even when their motives were questionable! The old Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life, is a heartwarming story.
The Bible account of Christ’s birth isn’t pagan. Matthew was Jewish, possibly Luke too. Jesus’ birth-date observance isn’t a salvation issue. Family relatives may keep it in faith. Romans 14 indicates we shouldn’t judge other Christians in regards to non-essentials (e.g. the market where meat came from), thereby avoiding needless strife & division. By honoring Christmas, Christian sabbathkeepers too can distinguish themselves from disbelieving Jews who also may keep a weekly sabbath.
It seems there wasn’t much question about the general season of Jesus’ birth in the early Eastern church (though its calendar differed a little). The date/season is being challenged in recent years. And since the early Christians didn’t customarily celebrate birthdays, early documentation is rather scant.
Christian families can annually honor their Savior’s birth, praising the Lord with uplifting Christmas carols & hymns…without doing the heathen customs of Santa Claus, holly & mistletoe, wassailing, party spirit, xmas ham, or engaging in excessive materialism. Just throw out the bath water, not the Baby! Omit wrongs stemming from carnality & paganism which can be divisive.
This concludes my apology (and ‘semi-polemic’) for celebrating Jesus’ birth, Christmas.
We don’t know for sure the date of Jesus’ human birth. Yet from scriptural accounts and early writings, the weight of evidence seems to indicate December or early January. Perhaps Jesus, the “Light of the World” (Jn.8:12), did come into this world during the traditional ‘Festival of Lights’…Hanukkah, Kislev 25! And in 2016, Hanukkah (Kislev 25) again begins on December 25 of our calendar.
Bible Topic Exposition 