December 25th

Why was December 25th chosen for Christ's birth? There's still this myth circulating that the date was borrowed from the Roman Empire and, therefore, has pagan origins.

December 25th was mentioned first by Tertullian (ca 160 AC). His study of the Gospel of John has him calculating Mary's conception of Jesus on the 14th of Nisson according to the Hebrew calendar (March 25th Gregorian calendar). Precisely nine months later would have Christ born on December 25th.

We modern people would have some reason to be skeptical of Tertullian's calculation method. This date certainly is a tradition of men and probably is not the exact date of Christ's birth. Nevertheless, the day of December 25th was not borrowed from anything paganism was doing.

-Pr. Will Weedon