THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS

WHY We ( Miami Valley Bible Students) Celebrate

The Birthday of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

Does the Bible Support December 25^th or some other day?

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke2:10,11)

   Of all the events in recorded history, none are more important to the true Christian than the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note that with over 6000 years of the Biblical recorded history of man on the earth, these three events happened within a period of 35 years. Two of these events occured within three days of each other and are generally known to the world as the Good Friday through Easter Sunday period. The dates of the death and resurrection of Jesus are fairly well defined by history and the Bible but the date of his birth is somewhat obscure and Bible Scholars are divided on the exact date. For more than 300 years according to World Book and Encyclopedia Britannica, Christians observed the birthday of Christ on various dates with January 6 being the most popular. In AD 354 Catholic Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25.
Some History books show that the people of Rome already observed that day as the Feast of Saturnalia, celebrating the winter Solstice, the birthday of the sun or the date on which the sun was directly overhead and the days begin to lengthen. Christians however, honored Christ instead of Saturn as the light of the world. This Christian festival or midwinter feast as it was also called was first celebrated in Rome but it was not officially called Christmas (Old English Cristes maesse, “Christ’s mass”) until around 1066 AD.
   In any case, the celebration of Christ’s birthday on December 25 was gradually adopted by most Eastern churches. In the Armenian Church however, the date of December 25 was never accepted; Christ’s birthday is celebrated on January 6 to this day, as they remain faithful to the traditions of their forefathers
The exact reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25 is not clear, but most probably the motive was that early Christians wished the date to coincide with the pagan Roman festivals in order to draw new converts to the Christian faith and to make the breaking of old ties and traditions as painless as possible. The traditional customs connected with Christmas have accordingly developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17-24) was a time of merry making and exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the sun of righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the yule log and cakes, greenery, fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festivals, both pagan and Christian. Since the European middle Ages, evergreens, as symbols of survival, have been associated with Christmas. Christmas is traditionally regarded as the festival of the family and of children. Under the name of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus, presents are exchanged in many countries. Though pagan in origin and based upon ancient customs and religious practices, the date and celebration of December 25th as Christ Birthday has survived and grown into a popular holiday, observed by a vast majority of Americans and many other nations but the message of Jesus Christ and the Apostles (Mark 1:14,15) concerning the gospel is all but lost.   Incidentally, because of its pagan origin, the celebration of Christmas was banned in early Colonial America and the United States Congress did not declare Christmas a national holiday until June 26, 1870.

THE DATE OF OUR LORD’S BIRTH

Many Bible commentators have placed Jesus’ birth at 4 B.C. The most accurate dating of Jesus’ birth is 2 B.C. In the sixth century the Church began to reckon time from the birth of our Lord and fixed the date A.D. as it now stands; namely, 536 years after the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia. The Scriptural evidence relating to this subject shows that our Lord’s birth occurred one year and three months prior to January, A.D. 1. It is as follows:

Our Lord’s ministry lasted three and a half years. The sixty-nine symbolic weeks of years (Dan. 9:24-27) reached to his baptism and anointing as Messiah, and there the last or seventieth week (seven years) of Israel’s favor began. He was cut off [in death] in the “middle” of that seventieth week— three and a half years from the beginning of his ministry. He was crucified, we know, at the time of the Jewish Passover, about April 1st, whatever the year. The three and a half years of his ministry, which ended in April, must consequently have begun about October, whatever the year. And October of some year must have been the true month of his birth, because he “delayed not” to begin his ministry as soon as he was thirty, and could not, according to the law under which he was born and which he obeyed begin before he was thirty. As we read in Luke 3:23 “and Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age...”

. John the Baptist was six months older than our Lord (Luke 1:26,36), hence He was of age (thirty years, according to the Law, Num. 4:3; Luke 3:23) and began to preach six months before our Lord became of age and began his ministry. The date of the beginning of John’s ministry is clearly stated to have been the “fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, the third emperor of Rome. (Luke 3:1) This is a clearly fixed date of which there can be no reasonable doubt. Tiberius became emperor at the death of Augustus Caesar, in the year of Rome 767, which was the year A.D. 14.

We may therefore consider the date of Luke 3:1 not merely the only one furnished in the New Testament, but an unequivocal one. There can be no doubt about it in the minds of any who have thoroughly investigated it. Tiberius began to reign in A.D. 14. The fifteenth year of his reign, would therefore be the year A.D. 29, in which year, Luke states 3:1-3, John began his ministry. Since our Lord’s thirtieth birthday and the beginning of his ministry were in October, and since John’s birthday and the beginning of his ministry were just six months earlier, it follows that John began his ministry in the spring, about April first—just as soon as he was of age; for God’s plans are always carried out with exact timing. So, then, John was thirty years old in A.D. 29, about April first, consequently he was born B.C. 2, about April first and Jesus’ birth six months later, must have been B.C. 2, about October first.

Again, there is clear, strong evidence that Jesus was crucified on Friday, April 3rd, A.D. 33. The fact that his crucifixion occurred at the close of the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, and that this date rarely falls on Friday, but did so in the year A.D. 33, helps to substantiate the date. The moon was also full. These two events can be verified by the use of a perpetual calendar and astrology references books available at book stores or your local library.

Jesus’ birth was about one year and three months before our common era, A.D. 1; for his ministry ended when he was thirty-three and a half years old, April 3rd, A.D. 33. The date of his birth may be readily found by measuring backward to a date thirty-three and a half years prior to April 3rd, A.D. 33. Thirty-two years and three months before April A.D. 33 would be January 3rd, A.D. 1, and one year and three months further back would bring us to October 3rd, B.C. 2, as the date of our Lord’s birth at Bethlehem. The difference between lunar time, used by the Jews and solar time, now in common use, would be a few days, so that we could not be certain that the exact day might not be in September about the 27th, but October 1st, B.C. 2 is about correct.
Furthermore, a midwinter date does not well agree with the declaration of Scripture, that at the time of our Lord’s birth the shepherds were in the fields with their flocks. (Luke 2:7,8) Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, this is highly unlikely.

Luke 2:1-7 tells how Joseph and Mary, Christ’s parents, had come to Bethlehem to register in a Roman Census. History tells us that these censuses were not taken in the winter when temperatures were below freezing because traveling would be difficult.

Why We (Miami Valley Bible Students) Celebrate Christmas

Christmas day, in celebration of our dear Redeemer’s birth, has for many centuries been observed on December 25th. It is now well known by many historians and Bible scholars that this date is in error and that Jesus was actually born about October 1st. The Lord and the Apostles gave no instructions to remember the birthday of Jesus but they did teach followers to remember His death. Jesus, in teaching the disciples at the last “Passover” supper (Luke 22:19) and the Apostle Paul in 1Cor 11:26. However, since it is proper to do good deeds and to think good thoughts upon any day, it cannot be improper, in harmony with general usage, for us to remember in a social way our dear Redeemer’s birth at this time.

Our Lord Jesus was God’s great gift to Israel and to the world, but this fact is only appreciated fully by the true Christian Church. All of God’s gifts are promised through Him-”who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.”(1Tim:2-6).

In view of these things, the custom throughout Christendom of making Christmas Day joyful by the interchange of little tokens of love in the family and to the poor, seems to us, most appropriate. Even though Christmas day is not the true anniversary of our Lord’s birth,(Luke 1:28`) and since the celebration of our Lord’s birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to Him, it is not necessary for us to quibble about a date which we recognize, but do not worship. We may well join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event, in a social way, on the day which the majority celebrates as “Christmas day.”

For an in depth look at Bible chronology, time prophecies, the times of the Gentiles, the date of our Lord’s birth, the manner of our Lord’s return, the man of sin and many other timely and interesting subjects, please order a copy of The Time is at Hand.

The Bible tells us that “to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun.” Eccl.3:1 In this we find God’s method of dealing with His creatures. Unhurriedly, positively, unerringly, God’s Plan has continued to unfold throughout the centuries; each age fulfilling God’s irresistible will. Likewise, He has appointed a time when “All who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth; John 5:28,29.

We now offer a free Bible correspondence course based upon The Divine Plan Magazine edition with the first lesson included. When you complete the first one, the next lesson will be mailed to you.

Learn the Divine Plan of the Ages...for you are in it!