Christmas was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since Christians generally celebrated the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth. Later a feast was established in memory of the event of Christ's birth in the fourth century AD. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered the feast to be celebrated forever on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of the Saturnalia, a festival of light leading to the winter solstice with an abundance of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth. No certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed and so it became a matter of convenience in an attempt to draw Pagans into the church. It was 300 years after Christ before the Roman church kept Christmas, and not until the fifth century that it was mandated to be kept throughout the empire as an official festival honoring Christ.
The specific month and date of Jesus birth has always been a point of conjecture however theologians suggest that Jesus was born in the Spring, based on the biblical narrative that shepherds were watching over their flocks in the fields on the night of Jesus' birth something they would have done from Spring until early Fall, however not during the winter months. Many have mistakenly believed He was born around the beginning of winter, December 25th. It was custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts around Passover in early spring, and bring them home at the commencement of the first rains which began around October. During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. The sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October and the rains had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact. Luke explains that when Christ was born, (Luke 2:8)“there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Note that they were “abiding” in the field. This never happened in December. Both (Ezra 10:9-13) and the (Song of Solomon 2:11) show that winter was the rainy season and shepherds could not stay on cold, open fields at night.
The specific month and date of Jesus birth has always been a point of conjecture however theologians suggest that Jesus was born in the Spring, based on the biblical narrative that shepherds were watching over their flocks in the fields on the night of Jesus' birth something they would have done from Spring until early Fall, however not during the winter months. Many have mistakenly believed He was born around the beginning of winter, December 25th. It was custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts around Passover in early spring, and bring them home at the commencement of the first rains which began around October. During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. The sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October and the rains had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact. Luke explains that when Christ was born, (Luke 2:8)“there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Note that they were “abiding” in the field. This never happened in December. Both (Ezra 10:9-13) and the (Song of Solomon 2:11) show that winter was the rainy season and shepherds could not stay on cold, open fields at night.
Can Christ truly be honored at Christmas?
The most common justification that one will hear regarding Christmas is that people have replaced old pagan customs and intents by asserting that they are now “focusing on Christ.” The problem is that God plainly commands against it and keeping Christmas as it is today is in a sense actually dishonoring to Christ. Christ said, (Matthew 15:9) “In vain they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Christmas is not a command of God it is a tradition of men. (Mark 7:9) He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” Every year, throughout the world, on December 25th, hundreds of millions do just that! On these very grounds, the nativity in December should be given up as it has morphed into a worldly Pagan ritual of obscene materialistic proportions where the fictitious person of Santa Clause has completely usurped the notion that it is a celebration of the birth of Christ.
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