The common Christian traditional calendar date of the birthdate of Jesus was 25 December, a date first asserted officially by Pope Julius I in 350 AD, although this claim is dubious or otherwise unfounded.
All this is still within the time frame of how the Jewish calendar would have served to place the conception of Jesus as being in the sixth month on the Jewish calendar—our March—and Jesus' birth coming nine months later, in December. Christians therefore need not be doubtful about Christmas and its dating.
On September 11, 3 B.C. sunset was at 6:18 pm and moonset at 7:39 pm. It was during this eighty-one minute period of time that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judaea.
“The real reason for the selection of Dec. 25 seems to have been that it is exactly nine months after March 25, the traditional date of Jesus' crucifixion. … As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.”
The early evidence shows that it wasn't until the late 2nd Century until people started trying to figure out what date Jesus was born. By 336 AD, the emperor Constantine established December 25th as the date when Christians celebrate Christ's birth. He didn't choose a random date.
Hippolytus, states that Jesus was born on Wednesday, December 25th, in the 42nd year of Augustus, 5500 years after Adam; and he died in his 33rd year of life on Friday, March 25th, in the 18th year of Tiberius, on the consulship of Rufus and Rubellius [AD 29]. The 42nd year of Augustus refers to either 3 BC or 2 BC.
Do Christians believe Jesus was born on December 25?
Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born.
The earliest source stating December 25 as the date of birth of Jesus was Hippolytus of Rome (170–236), written very early in the 3rd century, based on the assumption that the conception of Jesus took place at the Spring equinox which he placed on March 25, and then added nine months.
While he was there with Mary, she gave birth to Jesus; but because there was no place for them in the inn, she used a manger as a cradle. From the age at which Jewish maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age.
The Gospels all agree that Jesus died on a Friday, a few hours before the Jewish Sabbath was to begin (Matthew 27:62, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:42), that he shared a Last Supper with his disciples the evening before, and was crucified the next day—and that these events occurred in the reign of Tiberius (AD 14–37) ...
AD 2150. With the story of the birth of Christ coinciding with this date, many Christian symbols for Christ use the astrological symbol for Pisces, the fishes. The figure Christ himself bears many of the temperaments and personality traits of a Pisces, and is thus considered an archetype of the Piscean.
Talmage, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, published a book in 1915 titled "Jesus the Christ," in which he wrote, "We believe that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, April 6, B.C. 1."
Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C. and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.
Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Basilica of the Resurrection, is home to the Edicule shrine encasing the ancient cave where, according to Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian belief, Jesus' body was entombed and resurrected.
4. She ascended into heaven. The early centuries of the Christian tradition were silent on the death of Mary. But by the seventh and eighth centuries, the belief in the bodily ascension of Mary into heaven, had taken a firm hold in both the Western and Eastern Churches.
The 'X' comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós (Greek: Χριστός, translit. Khristós, lit. "anointed, covered in oil"), which became Christ in English. The suffix -mas is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass.
Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to have derived from Roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest, and the winter solstice. Some customs from those celebrations that have endured include decorating homes with greenery, giving gifts, singing songs, and eating special foods.
Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. The name 'Christmas' comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus).
To God: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” To the “good thief”: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” To Mary, his mother: “Woman, behold your son”... and to John: “Behold your mother.” To God, his Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Although the Biblical gospels contain metaphorical references to Christ, saying he is a bridegroom, they mean he is married to the church and there is no reference to a real wife.
Certainly, the Bible mentions some of Jesus' siblings by name (Joseph, James, Judas, Simon - Mark 6:3). There is even some speculation that the latter of these three were three of the apostles. (ie. James = James The Less, Judas = Jude The Obscure, Simon = Simon The Zealot).
