December 25
Christmas: The Real Story
The birth of Jesus, God come to us as a baby.
Where it really comes from
Christmas means "Christ's Mass": the celebration of Jesus' birth. The Bible doesn't give the date, and Christians have never claimed that December 25 is certain. But by the early 200s Christian writers were already working out the date of Jesus' birth, and December 25 was being celebrated in Rome by AD 336.
What people say vs. what history shows
Myth: “Christians stole December 25 from a pagan sun-god festival.”
Debated: scholars disagree.
This is far from proven. Rome's official sun-god festival, "the birthday of the Unconquered Sun," is first recorded on December 25 in a calendar from AD 354, the same document that first records Christmas on that date. The emperor Aurelian built his temple to the sun god in AD 274. Meanwhile, Christians were already calculating Jesus' birth date in the early 200s. Many dated his conception, and his death, to March 25; nine months later is December 25. Hippolytus' commentary on Daniel (around AD 204) gives December 25, though some scholars think that line was added later. Historians still debate which came first, but the idea that Christians simply copied a pagan holiday is an assumption, not a fact.
Myth: “Christmas is really the Roman festival of Saturnalia.”
Solid: nearly all historians agree.
Saturnalia ran from December 17 to 23, not on the 25th, and it was a week of feasting and role-reversal games, not a birthday. Some winter festivities may have influenced how people partied at Christmas over the centuries, but the day itself was about Jesus.
Myth: “Jeremiah 10 forbids Christmas trees.”
Solid: nearly all historians agree.
Jeremiah 10:3-5 describes a craftsman cutting down a tree, carving it with tools, and covering it in silver and gold to make an idol that can't speak or walk. It's about idol-making, not decorating an evergreen. The Christmas tree custom began in Germany about 2,000 years after Jeremiah.
Myth: “Writing Xmas takes Christ out of Christmas.”
Solid: nearly all historians agree.
X is the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christos, "Christ." Christians have used it as a short way to write Christ's name for well over a thousand years.
The customs, honestly
- Santa Claus (Christian origin): Santa comes from St. Nicholas, a real bishop of Myra (in modern Turkey) in the 300s, remembered for secretly giving gifts to people in need. The Dutch called him Sinterklaas, and in America that became Santa Claus.
- The Christmas tree (Christian origin): Decorated trees appear in Germany in the 1500s. Medieval "paradise plays" on December 24 (the feast of Adam and Eve) used a tree hung with apples to tell the story of Eden, the fall, and the promise of a Savior.
- Nativity scenes (Christian origin): Francis of Assisi set up a live nativity, with a real ox and donkey, at Greccio, Italy, in 1223 so ordinary people could picture the night Jesus was born.
- Gift-giving (Mixed roots): Christians connect it with the wise men's gifts to Jesus (Matthew 2:11) and with God's gift of his Son (John 3:16). Romans also exchanged small gifts at Saturnalia, so this one has mixed roots.
The Jesus connection
Christmas is God keeping his promise. Isaiah 9:6 said a child would be born who would be called "Mighty God," and John 1:14 says "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." The God who made the stars came close enough to be held.
For kids
Christmas is Jesus' birthday party! God loved us so much that he sent his Son as a little baby, born in Bethlehem.
Talk about it
Which Christmas tradition in your family points most clearly to Jesus? Is there one you'd like to start?
Read it in the Bible
Isaiah 9:6 · Micah 5:2 · Luke 2:1-20 · Matthew 2:1-12 · John 1:14
Sources
- Andrew McGowan, "How December 25 Became Christmas," Biblical Archaeology Society
- Thomas J. Talley, The Origins of the Liturgical Year (1986)
- Chronograph of 354 (the Philocalian Calendar)
- Live Science: Why is Christmas celebrated on Dec. 25?