Does it make more sense that Jesus was born in late September or early october, and not December 25?

Question

I believe Jesus was born during the Jewish feast of Tabernacles.
It is happy celebration and a time of joy and rejoicing. Jesus is our joy. This makes sense.

The Feast of Tabernacles, also called Booths, comes on the fifteenth of Tishri (September-October), the seventh month according to the Jewish (biblical) calendar.

Why? John the Baptist was born during Passover. The angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her about Jesus in Elizabeth's six month of pregnancy. (luke 1:26)

So three months later John the Baptist was born. Add 8 days for the Passover celebration. Then 6 months less 8 days later, you are SMACK in the middle of the feast of tabernacles. A feast of Joy, comes Jesus. That is why all the rooms were gone in Bethlehem too.

PLUS, the Christmas day and the tree are all Pagan of origin and have nothing to do with Jesus. (Jerimiah)

It is not wrong to celebrate Christ's birth any day. Just trying to let you know, he was born in the feast of joy!

thoughts?

amen.

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

Well, if Luke 1:26 says Elizabeth was 6 months along, and Mary was just getting on, then the math would indicate you are correct.

The above link discusses the way December 25th came about.

Answer 2

Jesus was born during the time when the lambs were born which would be earlier than December 25, possibly late September. The shepherds were in the fields, a dangerous place to be at night, because of the birth of the baby lambs.
December 25 was a pagan feast of lights which celebrated the days beginning to get lighter earlier. Early Christians adopted this date because Christ is the Light of the World.

Answer 3

We do not have complete records from the period in question and there were several different callendars in use at the time all of which used "fudge factors" making precise dating almost impossible. There were censuses taken by Roman officials every 8 years or so. Sometimes the censuses themsleves took several years to complete. We have reasonably established a census MAY have occurred ~6 AD. The previous one would have been ~3BC (there was no year 0). New evidence seems to indicate that Herod the Great may have died in 1 BC instead of 4 BC as most scholars had previously thought. So all of the dates do seem to add up. The fact is that the entire story is very murky and we really cannot verify the story independently of Scripture. But by the same token the anti-Christians cannot DISPROVE it either. Given the fact that the Gospel of St. Luke is inspired by the Holy Spirit and therefore infallible and inerrant, I would be inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt in this case.

Answer 4

I don't think it really matters so much "when" we celebrate the birth of Christ - as it matters that we DO celebrate His birth. More and more over the years Christ has been further removed from what used to be the celebration of His birth.
Decorations start appearing before the "back to school" sales are over. More and more emphasis is on the "buy me, get me" Santa Claus version of Christmas.
School's no longer have a Christmas holiday or a Christmas pagent - it's now a winter holiday, and the "winter" program isn't even allowed to have songs about the birth of the Christ child because of the fear of offending someone. Wanting to be politically correct, and not offend some group or the other, many stores employees are not allowed to say "Merry Christmas" but must say "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings."
We need to get Christ's birth back to being recognized as being the "Reason for the Season." I don't think the date is an issue - it's returning the purpose to the date that matters..

Answer 5

Also the shepherds were in the fields. (Luke 2:8-14) Shepherds were not in the fields in the winter time. Most likely His birth was in the spring or in the fall.

Answer 6

he wasn't born on DEC 25th , that just the date that was chosen and its been celebrate on this date for centuries....it doesn't really make any difference..who cares as along as we do celebrate him

Answer 7

We'll never know.

Answer 8

CHRISTMAS
Christmas isn't Jesus's birthdate; it was the birthday of the sun god. Scripture doesn't mention Jesus's birthdate or any christians celebrating His Birthday. The only birthday mentioned besides Pharoah is the heathen king Herod. "Christmas" means "mass of Christ"; the celebration coexisted in Rome before there was any in Jerusalem. The early Roman Church however did establish a pagan festival that (Jer.10) coexisted with Jesus's Birth and that was the birthday of the sun god. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., article: "Christmas"). The Catholic sources admit that Christmas didn't co-exist with the earliest festivals. Jesus wasn't born Christmas; even scripture makes this evident. "On the night of Jesus's birth, the shepherd's were still keeping watch over their flocks." (Luke 2:8). The rainy season in Ancient Israel began after the Feast of Tabernacles which generally is early October. In November, it would be cool and wet; the flocks from the pasture had already been brought and kept in winter quarters by the shepherds. This tells us the shepherds were no longer in the fields at night. Another peice of evidence is overlooked is in Luke 1:35-36; it tells us John the Baptist was born to Mary's cousin Elizabeth six months before Jesus. And as we look further in verse 5-17, we see Zacharias an elderly priest burning incense on the altar and then an angel appearing to him and telling him that he and his wife would have a son to prepare Christ's Way. We know however when this announcement was made by the angel because of Zacharias was "of the course of Abijah" Please look at 1Chron.24:1-19; it tells us that King David divided these priests into 24 "courses" that served in the temple by rotation. The Course of Abijah would be the 8th of the 24 courses which usually would occur around the end of May. Pentecost came the week after the 8th course served and he had to serve all 24 courses during the three festival seasons. So Zacharias came home approximately after the first week of June; in which John the Baptist was conceived around mid-June and 9 months later would be his birth. John Baptist's birth came around mid-March while Jesus's was around mid-September. Also notice every year people claim 3 wise men seen Jesus in a stable; is this really true? The Bible nowhere states "3 wise men" or "that the wise men visited Jesus in a stable". Read for yourself: (Matt.2:11); these Magi came from the east beyond the Euphrates River which in the 1st century was called the Parthian Empire (the eastern border of the Roman Empire). Several weeks after Jesus's birth, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, the king's palace searching for Jesus. The "star" in the east led them to take their trip to Judea. After hearing about the timing of the "star's appearance" from the Magi; King Herod ordered the slaughter of all children two years and younger(Matt.2:16). When Jesus was 40 days old: His parents presented him in the temple (Luke 2:22)(Lev.12:2-4). After the Magi came, the family fled to Egypt. {Jesus six weeks old.}

WHEN WAS JESUS'S BIRTH?
http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/tw/magazine/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine33&item=1104261794
http://family.webshots.com/photo/1342393463049373547FazWzQ

Note: ECCLES.7:1 = "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."
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How Christmas came about. Is it related to Valentine's?
VALENTINE'S (CUPID)
CENTURIES BEFORE CHRIST, THE PAGAN ROMANS CELEBRATED FEBRUARY 15 & THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 14 AS AN IDOLATROUS & SENSUOUS FESTIVAL IN HONOR OF LUPERCUS, THE "HUNTER OF WOLVES". THE ROMANS CALLED THE FESTIVAL "LUPERCALIA"; CUSTOM OF EXCHANGING VALENTINES & OTHER TRADITIONS TO HONOR LUPERCUS, THE "HUNTER OF WOLVES". THE ROMANS CALLED THE FESTIVAL "LUPERCALIA"; CUSTOM OF EXCHANGING VALENTINES AND OTHER TRADITIONS IN HONOR OF LUPERCUS (THE DEIFIED HERO-HUNTER OF ROME). IT WAS ALSO BONDED ANCIENTLY WITH THE PAGAN PRACTICE OF TEENAGERS "GOING STEADY" THAT USUALLY LED TO FORNICATION. TODAY, "GOING STEADY" IS A REBIRTH OF AN OLD CUSTOM THAT CAME FROM THE TOMAN FESTIVAL LUPERCALIA THAT WAS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY BY DRAWING YOUNG WOMEN'S NAMES OUT OF A BOX BY MEN AS CHANCE DIRECTED.-- ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA, ARTICLE, "ST. VALENTINE'S DAY."

WHEN CONSTANTINE MADE CHRISTIANITY THE OFFICIAL RELIGION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE THERE WAS SOME TALK IN CHURCH CIRCLES OF DISGARDING THIS PAGAN FREE-FOR-ALL. BUT THE ROMAN CITIZENS WOULDN'T HEAR OF IT! SO IT WAS AGREED THAT THE HOLIDAY WOULD CONTINUE AS IT WAS, EXCEPT FOR THE MORE GROSLY SENSUAL OBSERVANCES. IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE REIGN OF POPE GELASIUS THAT THE HOLIDAY BECAME A "CHRISTIAN CUSTOM." AS FAR BACK AS 496, POPE GELASIUS CHANGED LUPERCALIA ON FEBRUARY 15 TO ST. VALENTINE'S ON FEBRUARY 14."--("CUSTOMS AND HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD", PG.172 BY LAVINIA DOBLER)(BY HERMAN L. HOEH; THE PLAIN TRUTH;FEBRUARY 1966).

LUPERCUS BORNE THE NAME VALENTINE AMONG THE HEATHEN ROMANS. THE GREEKS CALLED HIM "PAN"; THE SEMITES "BAAL" ACCORDING TO THE CLASSICAL DICTIONARIES". IN THE BIBLE; "BAAL" IS MENTIONED OFTEN; ANOTHER NAME FOR HIM IS CALLED "NIMROD, "THE MIGHTY HUNTER" (GENESIS 10:9). ANOTHER NAME FOR NIMROD WAS "SANCTUS" OR "SANTA", MEANING "SAINT", COMMON TITLE FOR A HERO-GOD. NIMROD KNOWN AS BAAL OR sun god OF ANCIENT PAGANS WAS BORN AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE. IN ANCIENT TIMES THE SOLSTICE OCCURED ON JANUARY 6; THIS WAS HIS BIRTHDAY UNTIL THE SOLSTICE CHANGED & THEN IT WAS CELEBRATED ON DECEMBER 25. "IT WAS THE CUSTOM OF ANTIQUITY FOR THE MOTHER OF A MALE CHILD TO PRESENT HERSELF FOR PURIFICATION ON THE 14TH DAY AFTER THE DAY OF BIRTH. THE 14TH DAY AFTER JAN.6--NIMROD'S ORIGINAL BIRTHDATE---TAKES US TO FEB.15, THE CELEBRATION OF WHICH BEGAN ON THE EVENING OF FEB.14--THE LUPERCALIA OR ST. VALENTINE'S DAY." --(HERMAN L. HOEH) NIMROD'S OTHER NAME WAS "CUPID" WHICH MEANS "DESIRE"---ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA", ART., "CUPID".
Encyclopedia Americana, article, "St. Valentine's Day."
Encyclopedia Britannica, art., "cupid."
http://family.webshots.com/photo/1339760087049373547vWZntY
http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/valentin.html
http://home.swbell.net/kelkay/valentines
http://home.sprynet.com/~pabco/stvalen.htm