Why Christmas? Why not Jesus's birthday?

Question

why dont they call it Jesus's birthday?

this question may sound a little stupid-
Is Christ Jesus's last name?


I want to know a little more about christianity . thanx for your answers

Answer 1

The name "Christmas" came from "Christ's Mass."

"Christ" is derived from a Greek word meaning "annointed."

Thus "Jesus Christ" is "Jesus, The Annointed One."

Answer 2

They are pretty much the same thing.
The word Christ has more meaning - it is something like meaning "enlightenment" so they would say that Jesus became enlightened and therefore became divine, or at least became aware of his divine nature. Some use the expression Jesus the Chisted one, so technically Christ was an adjective, a descriptor of the man Jesus, and not his last name.

Jesus said, referring to working miracles, that "These things shall ye do, yea, and even greater" which many take to mean that you too will eventually find enlightenment and become one with Jesus Christ.

Christmas is short for "Christ Mass" - a religious service celebrating the birthday of enlightenment of Jesus.
YOu have a good point though, as the divinity of Jesus
was first recognized at his baptism, by John the Baptist, not his day of birth. At the baptism, the heavens opened and God said "Behold my Son, in whome I am well pleased."

Answer 3

Christmas comes from the Old English words Cristes moesse, 'the mass or festival of Christ'. The first celebration took place in Rome about the middle of the fourth century.

Yes, December 25th was a pagan holiday. As pagans converted to Christianity in huge numbers, there were many who continued celebrating the pagan holidays they had grown up with. The Catholic Church chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus during one of the big pagan festival days, thus giving the new Christians a day to celebrate that was not pagan but still a celebration they were used to. Since no one knows the exact birthday of Jesus, it's of no consequence to select another day to celebrate his birth.

But, they believe Jesus was born in March or April. The reason for this is that the Bible says the shepherds were in the fields keeping watch over their flocks. The only time the shepherds stayed in the fields at night to watch the flocks was during lambing season...which would have been springtime.

Answer 4

It's official name is the Incarnation. Birthdays are not a big deal in the Bible. Essentially you'd be celebrating a time when someone was completely helpless, barely sensate, and undistinguished as a human being. In the case of Jesus, the emphasis is on God assuming flesh and becoming part of the world, not just being "born". Officially, it's not the important part of Jesus' life anyway, but Easter hasn't developed the traction that dark, frosty Christmas has.

Christ is a description, not a name. Think "Jesus, the Christ." His family name would be his father's: Yeshua ben-Yusef or bar-Yusef. The "Jesus" is a Latinization of the Greek version.

Answer 5

Ok, there is some good and a lot of bad info in the previous answers. No one knows exactly what day of the year Jesus was born. The calendar that we use today did not exist then. It is understood that for the shepherds to have been out in the field with their sheep, the weather must have been suitable. Therefore, the end of December is very unlikely the time of year that Jesus was born. It is true that there were pagan celebrations around the 25th of December, and that "the church" gave it a "Christian" meaning. Why the birth of Jesus was assigned to this date, I don't know. Throughout history, the birth and death of a person are the main facts of their lives that are recorded. I'm sure that because we know that His death happened at Passover then it would make sense to assign His birth to a different date.
Regardless of all that, for most people around the world, December 25th is just another day. For Christians, however, it is just as important as Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is of little importance what the actual date is. No one can establish that with any certainty. What is important is that we celebrate Christmas with gifts and fanfare to honor that God gave the greatest gift of His Son so He could die for our sins and make salvation possible for all who believe. If you don't believe in God, that Jesus was His son, that He died for your sins and rose again, then Christmas is just another day to "party". However, if you are a believer, then Christmas is a day to rejoice in what God has done for us.

Answer 6

Well it actually is not Jesus' birthday. We don't know for sure when his birthday was. The "Christian" Roman emperors consolidated the feast days from all of the pagan religions under their control and gave them Christian names.

The purpose of this was to limit the number of days in which commerce was limited. Also, the Romans were great at pacifying people this way. Just tell the pagans, "look, worship how and what you want, only call it 'xxx' and we won't kill you."

That said, none of this stops me from celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25th. Whenever Jesus was born, it definitely merits a celebration! E-mail me with any questions regarding Christianity I will do my best to answer you.

Answer 7

It's the day when people celebrate the birth of Christ, but it isn't necessarily supposed to be his birthday. I'm not sure anybody claims to know his actual birthday.

I've heard that the 25th of December was chosen because it is close to the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year. The pagans who the Romans were trying to convert back then had a big holiday at the winter solstice, so they arbitrarily declared that the 25th is when we're going to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That way, they could still have a party, but it would be a properly Christian party. Easier than squelching it, I guess.

Answer 8

"Christmas" is from "Christ's Mass" or something similar. It isn't actually on what the birth of Jesus would be according to the Bible; the date was chosen because it is around the winter solstice, which is important in most pagan faiths.

"Christ" is not Jesus' last name. It is the Greek term for the Messiah or "anointed", which is what Jesus is often believed to be.

Answer 9

Because its not the exact birthday of Christ. Also, it was adapted from a pagan holiday and has been changed a lot due to customs brought by the Irish and Germans in the 1800s.

Jesus didn't have a "last" name 1. because no one really had last names then and 2. because Joseph wasn't his father. God was and God has no last name.

Answer 10

Christmas is taken from the word's "Christ's Mass" it means celebration of Christ. So, it is proper...

I believe Christ's birthday was actually in spring, however tradition holds December as celebration time for this holy day (holiday).

Answer 11

Because he wasn't born in December..actually it's believed that his exact birthday is September 11th
His last name was not Christ..Christ is a title derived from the Greek meaning the Anointed One,which corresponds to the Hebrew-derived Messiah. He wouldn't have a last name because God does not have a last name.