2006-12-22 02:14:55 · 6 answers · asked by Robert R 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Other - Holidays
I was just watching about this on History Channel this morning. It has nothing to do with anything in the bible. It was chosen because it was the same day that Mithra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra ) was celebrated.
2006-12-22 02:19:23 · answer #1 · answered by FaerieWhings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christ was not born in December. There are biblical cues to tell people what season he was born in, such as what fruit was ripe and so forth. I just don't have the references handy.
The church shifted the date that Christians celebrate His birth as a conversion attempt. The earth-based religions that were most popular before Christianity have a celebration on the Winter Solstice. By shifting the date of their celebration to around the same time as the Solstice the church made it very easy to shift people to their religion. They also took some of the earth-based tradtions and gave them new meaning, such as the wreath signifying Christ's undying love for us.
2006-12-22 10:24:25 · answer #2 · answered by Jen 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Roman census was actually performed in the spring, but there was no census the year in which Jesus was born. There are many translation issues with the bibles currenlty used for the Christian faith. Also the bibles were written many years after Jesus was crucified.
The date was used to draw pagans into the Catholic church as is the case with many of the Christian holidays. The date is in the same time period of the solstice, Mithra and Yule, all of which are pagan holidays.
2006-12-22 10:26:27 · answer #3 · answered by Christopher L 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The only Biblical reference to when Christ was born is the fact that it happened during the census ordered by Ceasar Augustus.
This happened when Cyreneus was governor of Syria. Supposedly, the old Roman archives show that this was done about this time. The important think is not WHEN He was born, but That He was born.
2006-12-22 10:20:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I did some research on this and came up with an interesting article which seems to make a lot of sense to me. You can check it out here:
http://www.christiancommunitychurch.us/cruci0.html
The Bible doesn't say exactly when Christ was born, but the article makes some interesting arguments which I found quite helpful.
2006-12-22 10:19:11 · answer #5 · answered by irishharpist 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Perhaps it's to do with Commercial.... the end of the year, clear out the shelves for the new year.
Or is it to do with commercial Religion, Churches, a time of giving.
2006-12-22 10:23:27 · answer #6 · answered by inteleyes 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋