

As John was born in March, this suggests that Jesus would have been born about three months later, some time in June. Jesus’s cousin, John the Baptist, is said to have been conceived six months before Jesus. What we know, pretty much for certain, is that Jesus Christ was not born on the day his birth has been celebrated for centuries - December 25th.Įxperts who’ve analysed the biblical account of the Nativity in close detail suggest that many of the key details included in it indicate Jesus was not born in the winter.įor example, the Bible mentions shepherds tending their flocks around the time Jesus was born - but it’s unlikely that the weather would have allowed them to do this during the winter. READ MORE: Who received the first Christmas card - and how many Christmas cards are sent in the UK each year? When was Jesus actually born? So when was Jesus actually born - and why do we celebrate Christmas Day on December 25th? In fact, however, experts and historians pretty much unanimously agree that the actual Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t born on December 25th - nor in what we know as the year 1 AD. It was seen as a compromise between opposing beliefs.Ĭhristmas is celebrated globally on both December 25 and December 24, or Christmas Eve, with church services.Given that we celebrate Christmas on December 25th every year, and that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, you might have assumed they’d got his date of birth right. The time of year that Jesus was born is a matter of some debate, but the exact timing of Jesus birth is nothing to be dogmatic about, given the Bibles. United Church of God specifically names June 13 to 17 as a likely time Jesus was born.Īccording to author William Walsh, as published in 1970 book, The Story of Santa Claus, the Christian decision to use December 25 as the global holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus came about as a way to hopefully convert pagans to Christianity. If his birth is taken into consideration, it leaves Jesus's birth in June. John was conceived six months before Jesus. The census allegedly would not have occurred in the winter, or December specifically, because the turnout would have been expected low.Īs for when Jesus was really born, many Christians base their calculation on the birth of Jesus's cousin, John the Baptist. The calendar as it is known today recognizes history before and after the life of Jesus Christ. Instead, this implies Jesus was born during a warmer month.Īnother major plot point, regarding Jesus's birth and parents Mary and Joseph's commute to their hometown, Bethlehem, was the concept that Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem for the Roman census. most scholars believe that Jesus was born around 6-4 B.C. Multiple sources, including books "Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays" and "The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary" commented that the weather would not have permitted Shepherds to be tending to their flocks at the end of December. This is clearly outlined in the Bible at Luke 2:7-8, and is such a prominent part of the story, it has been featured in Christmas songs, according to the United Church of God. One large plot point in the story of Jesus's birth is the presence of shepherds watching over their flocks. When Jesus was really born can be assumed based on Scripture. The holiday was celebrated as the Roman pagan solstice, or "birthday of the unconquered sun," which began on December 17 and ended December 25. Instead, Christmas was chosen as a convenient celebratory day on the same day of a pagan holiday that celebrated the winter solstice, according to The History Channel. This fact forces us to choose the first shift of the course of Abijah as the time when Gabriel visited Zacharias in the Temple. This means, counting back the nine months of gestation and the six-month difference in age, John must have been conceived in the first half of 5 BC.

It is not believed Jesus was born on the day Christmas is globally celebrated. 2), it is clear that Jesus was born sometime in 4 BC. More than likely, the year of our Lord’s birth dates back to 3, 4.

But was Jesus really born on December 25? WHEN WAS JESUS ACTUALLY BORN Perhaps not one of us would be surprised to discover, in the long run, that it is not true that Jesus Christ was born on the 25th of December in the year one (1), from which time history began to count the period referred to as of our era A.D. Though Christmas has become a retail extravaganza, its holiday roots lie in the celebration of the birth of Jesus, who the Christian religion regards as the son of God.
