how do they know that jesus was born on the 25th december?

Answer 1

we don't
in fact it is inderstood that he was born around may
but the churchs liked the idea of celebrating it then

Answer 2

We don't know

The Gospels do not mention the date of Jesus' birth. It was not until the 4th century AD that Pope Julius I set 25th December as the date for Christmas. This was an attempt to Christianise the Pagan celebrations that already took place at this time of year. By 529, 25th December had become a civil holiday and by 567 the twelve days from 25th December 25th to the Epiphany were public holidays.

Christmas is not only a Christian festival. The celebration has roots in the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, the festivals of the ancient Greeks, the beliefs of the Druids and the folk customs of Europe.

Answer 3

Yawn,

Usual load of cobblers about supposed pagan festivals, sundry god's birthdays, hijacking, Constantine blah-di-blah,

All of it complete nonsense. There is no historical evidence for any of it.

The church in ROME (ROME - GOT THAT- ROME - NO YULE IN ROME!!!) picked the date sometime in the 3rd century - noone knows exactly when. A Roman emperor inaugurated a festival of the "Unconquered Sun" about the same time (so NOT A PAGAN TRADITION - it was invented by an emperor) but noone knows which came first.

As far as we know
There is no proof the Jesus was born on 25th December,
There is no evidence in the bible to suggest any other date or time of the year (sheep stay out all year in the North of Britain, never mind the middle east)

So 25th December is the date chosen by the church (for whatever reason - but probably nothing to with pagans) to celebrate Christ's birth and has been for 1700 years. Its as likely as any other date so go to an celebrate.

Answer 4

They don't. We don't know when Jesus was born but it's quite doubtful that he was born on December 25th. Jesus was born when the shephards were outside with their sheep at night. They don't do this in the winter time. The date close to the winter's solstice instead. This is a time when people commemorated the days becoming longer (the return of the Sun god). The Catholic church came up with Christmas as a way to mix their beliefs with this pagan custom. The Catholic church does this because this is their identity. Catholic means universal. This is the idea that all religions should meld into one. Christmas isn't the only holiday that was meant to mimic another one. All Saints Day comes after Halloween and Easter coincides with Ishtar's fertility celebrations (now you know why eggs and rabbits are included in Easter. They're the perfect fertility icons).

Answer 5

Actually, most historians believe He was born in spring or summer, not December at all. When the Christians set down a date for His birthday, they picked the 25th of December in order to steal some thunder from the winter solstice holiday of the pagan religions, making the Christian religion seem more familiar to pagans in order to get conversions. It's terrible but it doesn't take away from the fact that the son of God did indeed come to die for our sins. It should still be celebrated and due to the fact we don't know the exact date anyway, it may as well remain as it is.

Answer 6

Jesus was not born on the 25th December. In fact the bible doesn't specify a date that he was born. However, the fact that the sheep and the shepherds were in the field indicates that it wasn't the middle of winter.
The idea of celebrating Christmas on this day came from the pagan celebration that celebrated the Winter Soltis. The pagan celebration was adopted by Christians in order to convert pagans to Christianity.

Answer 7

Jesus was probably born in the springtime. December 25th coincides with the Roman Saturnalia and the Winter Solstice and it was used as the date to celebrate the birth co opting it from a pagan ritual. Many of the traditions such as decorating with greens and yule logs spring from pagan festivals.

Answer 8

It became part of the Christian calendar in the third century. There are many reasons why the 25th of December was picked, but no one has ever claimed to know that it was actually correct.

The church considers this date the "traditional date" for his birth, allowing for the possibility that it is wrong.

Answer 9

Jesus (upon him peace) birth year is disputed by Christans some say he was born 11 AD. Muslims believe in him as a Prophet and that he was born during the summer.

25th of December is the birth date of many pagan deities, Mithras, Osus, Baal and many others.

Below is a link to explain Christianity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oj5LcxxFfg&feature=related

Answer 10

He wasn't born in December. September 11th is the best bet.

In his second chapter, Luke tells what happened the day Mary came to the
Temple for purification 40 days after the birth of Jesus. All one has to know is what
day this was. And Luke plainly names the day. In fact, he includes three statements
identifying the day. So what day was this?

Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. The 10th day of the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar.

In Luke's time, Yom Kippur was called three things: The day of the "Fast," the day
of the "Purification,"and the day of "Redemption." Luke uses all three to identify the
day Jesus was brought to the Temple. And he even quotes the Torah rule that mandates
the 40-day period for the mother to wait after the child's birth [Lk 2:22-38].

And if there were any doubt that it was Yom Kippur, Luke tells of a woman named
Anna who had been in the Temple for a "night and day" without leaving. There was
ONLY ONE DAY A YEAR when a person could pray overnight in the Temple: Yom
Kippur. All other days, the Temple was locked at sundown.

This shows the 40th day of Mary's Purification had begun at the end of Yom Kippur,
the end of the 10th day of the 7th month, because we know the Purification was done at
the earliest opportunity--at the beginning of the 40th day after birth. And since the 6th
month normally had only 29 days, simple arithmatic shows Mary's 39 days of Purification
had to have begun around sundown on the 1st day of the 6th month, called Elul.

This was the night of the first sighting of the new moon of Elul. The Magi in Babylon
were recording this sunset sliver of the new moon on a clay tablet. The cuneiform tablet
the Magi made at that hour 2000 years ago, along with thousands of others from Babylon,
resides in the British Museum. It is possible that this clay tablet was inscribed by one of
the famous Magi who later brought a strange set of gifts to Bethlehem. So the new moon
seen by the Magi in Babylon at the very moment of Jesus being born is recorded on one of
the tablets now in London. Cuneiform scholars have identified the date on this tablet as
equivalent to September, 11, 3 BC.

Answer 11

Jesus was not born on December 25th. The bible says that the shepards were out at night watching their sheep....that indicates that it was sometime in the fall that Jesus was born.