Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Excellent article. I read about the same subject some time ago. The Romans changed the actual birth date of Jesus to Dec 25th just to coincide it with the pagan celebration when they adopted Christianity in the early stage. It was an attempt of the Roman authority to make Christianity more accessible and easily acceptable to the pagan worshipers so that they and Christian-alike could both celebrate together on the same day with the hope that some of the pagans would convert more readily through a rather smooth and less confrontational transition.
However, the article didn’t mention the actual date of Jesus’ birth. It was said to be in the summer around June or July, though no one knew the exact date. But then again it doesn’t matter much to us Christians which day He was born for we’re all celebrating His coming to the world. The date is irrelevant to us.
Thanks for the link to a great site.
Based on Scripture he would be born late Sept/early Oct.
We aren't just celebrating the birth of a cutesy little baby. We are recognizing the miracle of the incarnation--God becoming man. It's not just about the date. It's about God coming to save sinners.
How many of us get all worked up over celebrating Easter on a day that was likely different from the day of the resurrection?
Anyone with brains will avoid a day based on a pagan celebration and never mentioned as a day to celebrate in Scripture.
Anyone with brains will avoid a day based on a pagan celebration and never mentioned as a day to celebrate in Scripture.
Do we have to be told that it's okay to celebrate something? Does the Bible condemn the comemmoration of good things in our lives? Have we been told not to rejoice in the fact that God gave us a Savior?
Anyone with brains will avoid a day based on a pagan celebration and never mentioned as a day to celebrate in Scripture.
Why? In that culture that sort of thing was done quite often. In fact, when the muslims took over Jerusalem, they built a mosque on top of the temple mount. They took over the area for their own use and made it their own. Other times, a church was often built on top of another religion (probably islamic) site. They took it and made it their own. It's just what they did. Likewise, they did it with December 25. Yes, it was a pagan holiday...but they took it and made it Christian.
Early Church tradition and some other evidences point to the month
of March, although they are not fully conclusive.
Concerning whether or not we should celebrate it, certainly so.
The Magi traveled far and gave gifts to Jesus.
The Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, the Angels, and others
all celebrated His birth.
The gifts we give each other on Christmas or on the Epiphany
are small representations of the gifts presented by the Magi to the Infant Jesus,
for He and His Paraclete (Holy Spirit) are within us.
It is certainly more traditional in Christendom to give gifts on the Epiphany,
January 6th, not Christmas.
The British and Americans were commercialized into giving gifts on Christmas Day.
The Romans first celebrated December 25 for the Festival of Saturnalia for their god saturn , where as Christians of that time were an illegal religion and were not allowed to celebrate the Birth of Christ , and many were killed for their religion of Jesus Holy spirit..... So like to day Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on the same day a this fest of saturnalia or today the fest of happy holidays and will blend in with the dominate culture without persecution .......
Do we have to be told that it's okay to celebrate something? Does the Bible condemn the comemmoration of good things in our lives? Have we been told not to rejoice in the fact that God gave us a Savior?
No problem with rejoicing with anything you want.
BUT for the Church to make it a Religious celebration for the Church goes beyond what they have the authority to do. THEN to pull in pagan practices and dates makes it far worse.
Here's a thought provoking question about when Jesus was born, what year was it?
Sept.Oct 2BC
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
