View source for Is there scriptural evidence that Jesus Christ's birth was in the fall of the year and not on December 25?

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Much evidence exists. If God intended for us to celebrate Christ’s birthday, He would have had the scriptures record the time of His birth, as well as the location. The exact date is not known, yet evidence points to an autumn birth.

Luke 2:8 provides the first indication, as flocks were still in the fields at night. The flocks were brought in for the winter season of mid-October to mid-March.

Another indication is the fact that Jesus was born six months after John the Baptist (Luke 1:24-26, 36). The question then becomes, when was John the Baptist conceived? Because Zacharias’ priestly functions were carried out during the course of Abijah, at the time of the angel’s appearance (Luke 1:5-20), John’s conception occurred in mid-June, as Jn 1:23-24 indicate. Thus, he would have been born in about mid-March. Therefore, Christ’s birth had to be in early autumn.

There is one additional clue. At the time of Christ’s birth, the area of Jerusalem was very crowded with visitors, because of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. 

People took advantage of this journey to Jerusalem to pay their taxes (see Luke 2:1-5), as they were collected at this time of the year. Leviticus 23:24-40 proves that the seventh month was the time in question. 

When we combine Luke 2:1-5 and John 7:2-10 we see evidence of Jesus’ parents travelling to Jerusalem for the spring and fall Holy Days.

While there is virtually no evidence of Christ being born on December 25, there is abundant evidence of an early autumn birth. The world celebrates Christ’s birth in a winter pagan “season,” when, in fact, our Saviour was born during a fall festival season that actually pictures the salvation of mankind.

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