My colleage who is a Christian says that 'true' Christmas falls somewhere in October/November and...?

Question

..hence does not celebrate Christmas in December. Is he wrong?

Answer 1

That may be why the only day day of celebration that Jesus gave us was the first day of the each week to celebrate his Resurrection.

Answer 2

He's wrong not to celebrate Christmas with other Christians. Why does it make any difference if the day is exactly right or not? We celebrate Christmas to honor the Christ-child. Is Jesus happy because we honor and worship Him, or if we act childish and don't celebrate at all. Your friend sound like a Jew to me. Spending more time worrying about the law, and less time praising Jesus.

Answer 3

NO i do not think that "the Christ' was born in Dec. as most travel would have been stopped by then for the winter months. The newly formed Christian Church placed the birth of Christ( the Son(Sun) of God.) on the 24-25 to compete with the Pagan holy Days of Yule(Winter Solstice,Dec.20-23) when the nights are the longest.and rituals were preformed to encourage the return of the Sun(Son.)northward. to bring the spring and warmer weather and longer days for planting.and the start of the birthing of the Lambs(Christ is also called the Lamb of God.). With the Shepard's still out in the fields with their flocks that would mean anytime between the start of spring to the start of fall.
The only Way to try and figure it out more closely would be to figure out when the call went out for the census and about how long it would take it to reach Mary and Joesph. So they could start on their way to the place of their birth and register.And approximately how long they would need to travel that distance.

Answer 4

Christ Jesus was probably (I say probably because there is not proof for or against and it was not recorded for a date, only the weather like conditions can be speculated and then assumed for a season based on biblical text) not born on December 25. Prior to the birth of Jesus, there was another celebration that took place on that date, i think for a pagan god. It was declared the date of celebration by Constantine I believe, in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was probably born in late spring maybe or early fall. So he is not wrong that it is not Jesus' actual date of birth.

Answer 5

Jesus was born in the fall as the others are sayinh. However, in my personal (and according to religion and history)..when the Roman Catholics were trying to convert Pagans to Christianity, they came up with a plethora of mimicked holidays...Christmas or Yule as Pagans, Wiccans, etc call it was and is celebrated around the time of Chrstmas as the Winter Solstace. Christians simply stole yet another Pagan tradition in hopes of bringing more to their side...which they unfortunately did.

Answer 6

Well, he not wrong about Jesus being born in December.
Bethlehem is cold and often snowy in December. The shepherds would not be outside tending their flocks that time of year in Bethlehem.

No one really knows when Jesus was born. Some believe His actual birth date was in early fall.

Answer 7

Jesus exact birth date cannot be determined but some clues are the Shepard's were in the fields still. and the census took place so the Jews would travel in good weather. so probably Sept to Oct
we do know the exact day of his death and this is what he commanded us to remember not his birth. hope this helps

Answer 8

Nope, actually he's right. Jesus was born long before the Christmas we say he was born on. Christmas is actually...the day the Wise Men showed up with their gifts to him...which is why we give gifts at Christmas time...or it's why we're supposed to....

Answer 9

No, He is very right. Jesus died when he was 32 1/2 years
old. You figure it out and you will understand.
Look in the book of Luke for the answer.

Answer 10

Fall is correct. X'mas are for pagans not real Christians.

Date of the celebration

M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”—(New York, 1871), Vol. II, p. 276.

Luke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”—(New York, 1962), Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.

The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”—(1977), Vol. 6, p. 666.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”—(1967), Vol. III, p. 656.

Wise men, or Magi, led by a star

Those Magi were actually astrologers from the east. (Matt. 2:1, 2, NW; NE) Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible. (See pages 144, 145, under the main heading “Fate.”) Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned?

Matthew 2:1-16 shows that the star led the astrologers first to King Herod and then to Jesus and that Herod then sought to have Jesus killed. No mention is made that anyone other than the astrologers saw the “star.” After they left, Jehovah’s angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt to safeguard the child. Was that “star” a sign from God or was it from someone who was seeking to have God’s Son destroyed?

Note that the Bible account does not say that they found the babe Jesus in a manger, as customarily depicted in Christmas art. When the astrologers arrived, Jesus and his parents were living in a house. As to Jesus’ age at that time, remember that, based on what Herod had learned from the astrologers, he decreed that all the boys in the district of Bethlehem two years of age and under were to be destroyed.—Matt. 2:1, 11, 16.

Gift giving as part of the celebration; stories about Santa Claus, Father Christmas, etc.

The practice of Christmas gift giving is not based on what was done by the Magi. As shown above, they did not arrive at the time of Jesus’ birth. Furthermore, they gave gifts, not to one another, but to the child Jesus, in accord with what was then customary when visiting notable persons.

The Encyclopedia Americana states: “During the Saturnalia . . . feasting prevailed, and gifts were exchanged.” (1977, Vol. 24, p. 299) In many instances that represents the spirit of Christmas giving—an exchanging of gifts. The spirit reflected in such gift giving does not bring real happiness, because it violates Christian principles such as those found at Matthew 6:3, 4 and 2 Corinthians 9:7. Surely a Christian can give gifts to others as an expression of love at other times during the year, doing so as often as he wants to.

Depending on where they live, children are told that gifts are brought by Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, Père Noël, Knecht Ruprecht, the Magi, the elf Jultomten (or Julenissen), or a witch known as La Befana. (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1984, Vol. 3, p. 414) Of course, none of these stories are actually true. Does the telling of such stories build in children a respect for truth, and does such a practice honor Jesus Christ, who taught that God must be worshiped with truth?—John 4:23, 24.