Is Christmas on December 25th? Is it okay for Christians to celebrate it?

November 29th 2017 | 38315 views 

The Bible does not teach that Jesus was born on December 25th, but the evidence is clear and strong that his birth was about October 1st. 

We need to reason backward from Jesus’ death to find the date of his birth. Jesus was crucified on Friday, April 3, AD 33. His crucifixion occurred at the close of the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, and this date rarely falls on Friday. However, it did so in AD 33. This substantiates the April 3 date. Even Usher, who adopted 4 BC as the date of Jesus' birth, was forced to admit that his crucifixion was AD 33.

Our Lord was 30 years of age when he began his ministry, and his ministry was for three and a half years only. This is proved by Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:25-27) concerning Christ's “cutting off” in the middle of the seventieth week of Israel's favor. The “seventy weeks” (one day for a year--490 days, or 490 years--Ezekiel 4:6) dating from 454 BC terminated 36 AD. In the “midst” of that last week of seven years, the "seventieth week," Christ was "cut off" --crucified--April 3, 33 AD. As the Lord Jesus was 33 1/2 years old when he died, we have only to measure back 3 1/2 years from his death to find the date of His birth. Jesus’ birth would, therefore, be about October 3, 2 BC.

There is no scriptural celebration of Jesus’ birth. It is often thought that December 25 became the traditional date of Christmas when it replaced the pagan celebration of the birth of the sun god, Mithra, and the Roman festival of Saturnalia. According to the Roman calendar, the winter solstice fell on December 25. Throughout the Roman empire, people would rejoice that from that point on the hours of sunlight per day would increase. December 25, the holiday of the Nativity of the Sun, celebrated this solar event and the Mithra nativity was replaced by the nativity of Jesus.  

However, it's likely December 25 was an established date even earlier. Early Christians did not have a biblical record of Jesus’ birth date, so they relied on theological reasoning rather than historical evidence. Influenced by Jewish thought that linked the conception and death of great figures, writers such as Tertullian (c. 160–220) argued that Jesus died on March 25 (the 14th of Nisan), the date of Passover. From this, they (wrongly) concluded his conception occurred on the same day, which placed his birth nine months later on December 25. This symbolic calculation aligned naturally with the Feast of the Circumcision on January 1, observed eight days after his birth according to Jewish custom.

The choice of December 25 came before Christianity was widely accepted in the Roman Empire and was not originally intended to replace pagan festivals. While later centuries saw church leaders reinterpret or absorb cultural elements from midwinter celebrations like Saturnalia or Sol Invictus, the date itself had already been established through theological speculation. In this way, Christmas reflects a blend of Jewish ideas, early Christian reasoning and later cultural adaptation.

Jesus did not tell his disciples to celebrate his birth. Therefore, it is not important when we choose to remember this wonderful event. Because love and appreciation for our Savior abound in people’s hearts on December 25th., we may join in this attitude of glad remembrance. And the habit of giving gifts to one another seems especially appropriate. God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. Certainly, amongst all His gifts, the one of greatest importance to us is the gift of His Son to be our Redeemer.

Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1312: “How Do We Know Jesus Is the Promised Messiah? (Part I)”
Jewish skepticism and key Old Testament identifiers of the Messiah
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

Episode #1209: “How Do We Keep Christmas About Jesus?”
Remembering the inspiring events surrounding the birth of Jesus
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

For children, parents and Bible class teachers:
Animated video: What is the story of Jesus’ birth?
Animated video: Why did God choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus?
 

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