Just curious to know
2007-11-12 16:00:17 · 26 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Dec. 25th represented the ending of winter darkness among ancient solar religions. Since Christianity is a syncretization of Judaism with the religion of Sol Invictus (the unconquerable sun), it maintained this key solar theological holiday by spinning it as the birth of Jesus, rather than the birth of the sun.
...actually, the Gospel birth stories are also astro-theological allegory.
2007-11-12 16:08:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Date wise? Probably not. It is estimated (not sure how but numerous people have come pretty close) to be around March. Weird thing: more than just a few of the famous or well-known people/preachers of God's Word have also died on or very close to their own birthday just like is maybe the case with Jesus (Easter died/ Christmas born). Hmm... still not sure what to think of that. No, at the time, pagans had a huge celebration around Dec 25 and, because being a Christian was illegal and punishable by death at that point, they decided to "celebrate" right along with the pagans but they were not celebrating the pagan holiday but Jesus's Birth. And it has stuck ever since.
2007-11-13 00:09:09 · answer #2 · answered by MICHAEL C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, there was a tradition in the west, that Mary bore Jesus on the 25th day, but no one could decide on the month. In 320 C.E. the Catholic Fathers in Rome decided to make it december inn an effort to co-opt the Mithraic celebrations of the romans, the Yule festival of the Saxons and the mid winter revels of the Celts.
There was never much pretense that the date chosen was historically accurate. Sheppards just don't tend their flocks by night in the high pasture in the dead of winter. If one wishes to use the New testament as historical evidence, this rference may point to sometime in the spring as the time of his birth. This was because lambing season occours in the spring, and this is the time most likely sheppards would be tending their flocks by night to ensure the lambing went well. Knowing this, the eastern half of the church, continued to reject dec. 25th date, prefering a movable date fixed by their astrologers, according to the moon.
For over three centuries, no onw knew when jesus was born, Dec. 25th finally caught on, by 529 it was a civic holiday, all work, with the exception of cooks and baers was prohibited by emporer Justimian. In 563 the Council of Braga forbade fasting on christmas day, and four years later, the council of Tours proclaimed the thwelve days of christmas, from dec. 25th to the epithany, Jan. 6th as sacred festival season.
The christian version of the holiday spread to mny countries, as fast as christianity itself. Christmas in Ireland wasn't celebrated until the 5th century, in England, Switzerland, and Austria, until the 7th century, Germany the 8th cent, and slavic lands until the 9th and 10th.
Christmas was not a big hit with the puritans who sailed over to the new world. Itwas to close to the pagan festival, Yule. It didn't begin to catch on in the new world until the 1800's. In Boston, Mass, it was against the law!!.
As for it being pagan, no, Dec. 20th -Dec. 23rd, is the pagan festival, winter solstice. Although christmas has absorbed many pagan customs, the Yule log, decorations, holly, mistletoe. Christmas is more secular, than religious.
I would like to know what month "Deptember" comes after though? KC
2007-11-13 00:36:00 · answer #3 · answered by elder_moon81 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO.
When was Jesus Born?
Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles,
in the fall of the year. To be exact, He was born on Tishri 15,
which this year is the eve of September 26th and the day of September 27th, 2007 .
This birth date rotates with the Jewish calendar, so that means
that next year, 2008, it will be on a different date on our Gentile calendars.
It might be easier to remember to simply say that Jesus' birthday is the first day of the feast of Tabernacles
(Booths, Succoth, Ingathering).
The Feast of Tabernacles is a 7 day feast where the people make booths, or shelters, to remind them of life's temporary dwelling. It would be similar to our putting up tents and camping for a week. Then when the week was over, there would be a reluctance to let the holiday go. So God added a special extra 8th day.
Well, that worked out so well that the people said, "just one more" and
what started out to be 7 days, turned out to be a full 9 days. It was so filled with joy, happiness, fellowship and good times that it was called ,
"The Season of our Joy"..."Zeman Simchateinu".
2007-11-13 00:07:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, Christmas is technically the pagan holiday of Yule, which celebrates the quickening of the sun returning to the sky. Symbolically, it celebrates the God becoming a young man while at the same time the Goddess descends and rests after giving birth to the God.
2007-11-13 00:06:01 · answer #5 · answered by ultraviolet1127 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Christmas is the time of CONCEPTION of Jesus Christ. Deptember is when he was actually born. You can tell because of what the scriptures say about the weather and the temperatures and the journey. Christians still celebrate Christmas though becaue of the conception of Jesus. the Julian calendar just picked DEc 25 as a generic day.
2007-11-13 00:04:27 · answer #6 · answered by KZ 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
No most scholars and thelogians believe it was closer to spring time. March or April. A few think maybe fall. September or October.
Spring is traditionally the tax time and Joseph and Mary were there for Census and Tax time.
Palestine is VERY cold in December and there would be NO one tending fields after sunset in November, December, January or February.
2007-11-13 00:10:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No...Christmas has actually nothing to do with Jesus. Unless of course you are a pagan christian. Which is cool though...cause Christmas is just the best ever time of year.
2007-11-13 00:05:26 · answer #8 · answered by sketch_mylife 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. He was actually born in the spring. Christmas was originally a Pagan holiday called Yule. Pagans today still celebrate it.
2007-11-13 01:43:32 · answer #9 · answered by Bookworm 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
Biblically, Jesus was born in March under the sign of Pisces. That's why Christians use the fish as a sign of Christianity.
2007-11-13 00:05:32 · answer #10 · answered by sukatx 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋