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Why Is Christmas Celebrated On 25th December?

Winter Solstice: In most ancient cultures, the winter solstice, which occurs around December 21 or 22, was seen as a symbol of the victory of light over darkness. Early Christians may have chosen December 25 to celebrate Jesus Christ as the “light of the world.”

No one knows the real birthday of Jesus! There is no date given in the Bible, so why do we celebrate it on December 25? There were certainly many arguments among the early Christians as to when it should be celebrated! Furthermore, Jesus was probably born not in Year 1 but slightly earlier, somewhere between 2 BC/BCE and 7 BC/BCE, possibly in 4 BC/BCE (there is no 0 – let Year 1 be BC/ Let’s go from BC to 1!).

The first ‘official’ date to celebrate Christmas on December 25 was recorded in 336 during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). But at that time it was not an official Roman state festival.

The date of Jesus’ birth can also be estimated from the time when Zechariah (who was married to Mary’s cousin Elizabeth) was sworn in as a priest in the Jewish temple and had a miraculous experience. Theologian Ian Paul’s blog has an excellent article on the date of Christmas based on the dates of Zechariah’s experience.

Apart from Christmas and Sankranti, some other festivals are also celebrated at the end of December. Hanukkah is celebrated by Saudis; The festival of Kwanzaa is celebrated by some Africans and African Americans from December 26 to January 1.