2:4-7 Was the day on which Jesus was born December 25?
2:4-7 Was the day on which Jesus was born December 25?
No, this is merely the date the Roman Catholic, Lutheran and non-Lutheran Protestant churches observe as Christ's birthday. The eastern Orthodox churches observe it on January 6, and the Armenian church on January 19. So we see that even among churches there is no agreement as to when Christ was actually born. Scriptures do not tell us either.
All we know is that it was at a time and season when shepherds were able to tend their flocks in the fields at night (cp Lk 2:8-18). This implies that the weather was much milder than it would have been had Jesus really been in the middle of the northern hemisphere winter in December or January. Jesus Himself even spoke against the cold of winter (cp Mt 24:15-22.
December 25 was the day on which a pagan festival had been celebrated for centuries before Christ in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian goddess Astarte, or Ashtoreth, the so-called queen of heaven. It was introduced into the church in the fourth century and adapted to Christianity and made to represent Christ's birthday.
Christ gave no mandate whatever for Christians to celebrate His birth, only His death. And even then it did not involve a specific day, but whenever Christians partake of communion (cp Lk 22:15-20; 1Cor 11:23-26). December 25, or Christmas Day as it is called, is purely a human invention. It is not of God. There is no historical record of Christians ever celebrating Christ's birth at all before the fourth century.
This is not teaching that Christians cannot celebrate the birth of Christ. Whatever they do is between them and God (cp Ro 14:4-13).
This teaching is simply stating the fact that it is not a mandate of scripture, and therefore is not compelling upon Christians to celebrate December 25, or Christmas Day, as the day on which our Lord was born.
(According to the Encyclopedia Americana 1942 edition, Vol. 6, page 623 Christmas was a feast established in memory of the Saviour in the fourth century. In the fifth century the western - Roman Catholic - church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol.) See also comments on Mt 27:50, Mk 16:1, Ac 12:4.