Why is Christmas celebrated on the 25th of December?

Answer:

During the first 3 centuries of Christianity, Christmas was not celebrated in December, if at all. When celebrated it was usually lumped with Epiphany(January 6th).

Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25th in 336, after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the empires favored religion. Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25th in 336, after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the empires favored religion.

December coincides with the pagan holiday Saturnalia. It is believed by many that December 25th was chosen as Christ's birthday celebration to make the transition from Paganism to Christianity easier. December coincides with the pagan holiday Saturnalia. It is believed by many that December 25th was chosen as Christ's birthday celebration to make the transition from Paganism to Christianity easier.

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Answer:

It is thought that the early Christians did not widely celebrate the birth of Jesus. This is most likely true since the primary focus was on His life, crucifixion, and particularly His resurrection. There certainly were some early celebrations. Early writings including a "feast calendar" written in 243AD indicate that there were some celebrations in the third century and perhaps in the second century. Christmas celebrations did not gain widespread prominence however until the Middle Ages or starting from around 400AD.

Christmas day, December 25, is not necessarily the actual date of Christ's birth. The true date may not be known because we lack enough information to pinpoint it precisely. (Beware that there are many who claim to have calculated the actual date and are most likely no more accurate than December 25.) Other dates including December 25 were used for this feast.

December 25 was settled on by the early church for reasons that are not absolutely clear (but there are some logical reasons for that date). There were pagan celebrations on December 25th. There were pagan holidays year round. Christmas didn't simply replace a pagan holiday; entire belief systems based on "many gods" were forever changed by Jesus Christ.


Answer:

In short, it was to make the transition from Paganism to Christianity easier to accept.

It was NOT because it was Jesus' birthday. The bible does not state an exact date.

However, Christians celebrate his birth on that day.

Answer:

None of you are right. It is not Jesus' death. It WAS his birthday on December 25.

Answer:

In the bible, there is no specific date of Jesus's birth. But it does give clues. For example, the shepherds in the field were on 'nightwatch.' Nightwatch was basically like the graveyard shift where shepherds would watch their sheep (most sheep delivered babies around this time, so shepherds had to be around during this time). This was called lambing season. Lambing season happened only once a year--during spring time. So we could infer that Jesus was born in spring time. But no one wants to celebrate Jesus's birthday around the same time as his death, so they decided to celebrated it a few months in advance.

It is celebrated in December to welcome the spring(when Christ was Born according to the Bible), to welcome the sun. It is mainly sun worship which the Pagans used to do.

First answer by Deb. Last edit by Sundarsathappan. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 221 [recommend question]