Have you ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th? I’m sure we are all at least generally aware that Christmas Day was probably not the actual historical date of the Lord’s birth, and yet for centuries it has been celebrated on that date. Where did that come from? It’s actually a pretty interesting background.

In the early Christian Church, Jesus’ birth was not originally celebrated – but His death and resurrection were. Historically, there was a Jewish tradition that originated centuries before Jesus’ birth of something called “Integral Age.” This idea claimed that prophets died on the same calendar date that they were conceived, which turns their life into a perfect circle. A few centuries after Jesus’ death, people tried to reason when He may have been born, so they leaned on the idea of integral age. It had been determined that Jesus’ death took place either on March 25 (according to the Western tradition) or April 6 (according to the Eastern tradition), and if that was the same day that He was conceived, then nine months later would put His birth on December 25 or January 6.

For a while, the Western and Eastern traditions celebrated Christmas on two different dates, but eventually December 25th became the standard across the board, and January 6 was instead celebrated as the day of “Epiphany.” This practice created a 12-day Christmas season, which is why we have Christmas carols that refer to “the 12 days of Christmas.”

While this was the primary origin of Christmas being on December 25th, there were a few added factors that helped to solidify the date as a Christian tradition. One factor that is debated by historians was that it allowed Christians to take over a traditionally pagan holiday that took place around the winter solstice. Historians are confident that this was not a primary reason for choosing that date, but it’s very possible that Christians liked the idea of taking something pagan and switching it out with a holiday of their own.

The other factor was the way December 25 lines up with the winter solstice. Every year on December 21, we experience the shortest/darkest day of the year. Christians both then and now feel that there is power in celebrating the birth of Jesus, which is described in the Word as a light shining in a dark world, at a time when light is literally beginning to enter back into our natural world. Regardless of why we celebrate the Lord’s birth on this specific date, I hope we can all feel the Lord’s presence with us as we approach the solstice and prepare for light to enter into our world – both natural light to brighten our days and spiritual light to enlighten our minds.