Society Why December 25 was selected for ChristmasBy DOUGLAS KIEREINIMore by this Author Summary Notwithstanding the great uncertainty revolving around the date Jesus’ birth, there was also a considerable amount of interest in the second century. The earliest mention of 25 December as Jesus’ date of birth comes from a mid-fourth century Roman almanac that lists the dates of death of various Christian bishops and martyrs. Notwithstanding the great uncertainty revolving around the date Jesus’ birth, there was also a considerable amount of interest in the second century. The first date listed, 25 December, is marked: natus Christus in Betleem Judaea: Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea. It is widely held that early Christians chose 25 December to celebrate Christmas to encourage the spread of Christmas and Christianity throughout the Roman empire because if Christmas looked like a pagan holiday, more pagans would be open both to the holiday and the God whose birth it celebrated.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 23, 2021 21:01 UTC