The Reason for the Season???

Now there are a few different views on the reason for this season. Some are seen as Holy Days, and others are seen as a means of remembering culture and virtues. The Jews celebrate Hanukkah, as a remembrance of the re-dedication of the Temple to the Lord, after the Maccabean revolt in 165 BC. Christians view this time of year as a time to remember the birth of our Lord.

Now, before I write anything further, let me say that my family and I do celebrate Christmas, and we do celebrate as a reason to remember Christ's birth. However, my husband said something the other night that really stuck with me. He said, "I wonder why so many Christians insist on celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th" And he has a point. For one, nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus was born in December. For two, nowhere does the Bible instruct us to even commemorate His birth in any way.

The closest details we have about the timing of His Glorious birth is in Luke 2:8, in which it is stated:

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

The only time that shepherds needed to keep watch over their flocks throughout the night was during the spring, during lambing season. Though the shepherds were likely out in the fields with their sheep from March throughout September, just because of their importance to the Passover Festival, and worries about theft or damage to the flock; that still supports the notion that Jesus was not born in December. During the winter, the sheep would have been kept in a corral, not out in the fields.

So when was Jesus born? Here we have the next closest timing for Jesus' birth. We know from biblical accounts that Jesus was born six months after his cousin, John the Baptist. (See Luke 1:26) We know from Luke that Zachariah was responsible for the eighth of the 24 Priestly Courses of the Jewish Faith. Each of the 24 courses lasted a week and were repeated twice during the year. The Jews used a luni-solar calendar of 51 weeks - the other three weeks of the year were for the three major Jewish religious celebrations - Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Because the calendar only had 51 weeks, the Jews had to add 30 days at prescribed intervals so that the calendar kept pace with the solar year.

In the case of Zachariah, he was officiating in the 8th course, or 8th week of the Jewish year, when the angel paid him a visit. The priestly courses probably started their serving in the springtime month of Nisan - the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year. This is a chronological clue - it tells us the general time of year that Zachariah was serving. We also know that he was not serving at a festival period because the priests suspended their normal weekly duties and all served together during the major Jewish high holy seasons.

Assuming that the springtime month of Nisan began that year (it varied with the state of the crops - in 4 BC it began after midnight on March 28 - March 29) on what corresponds to the end of March of our current calendar, then Zacharias was visited by the angel, and his wife became pregnant, in the month of June. Remember also that Passover, one of the High Holy weeks of the Jews, occurred during the time interval from late March to June - putting off Zacharias’ priestly course for one week. Assuming a full-term pregnancy of 9 months, Elizabeth gave birth to John sometime in March. This means Jesus’ birth would have taken place the following September. And what if Zacharias was serving his priestly course during his second time of the year, in December? This would mean that Elizabeth gave birth to John in September, and Jesus was born the following March. As you can see, neither of these dates is in December.

There are a few different reasons or theories given for why we celebrate Christ's birth in December. One is that the date was chosen not by the Christians, but by Romans, the traditional antagonists of the Early Church. Each year as the days became noticeably shorter in November and December, the Roman citizens feared that the earth may be "dying". With the "return of the sun" at the end of December resulting in longer days, the Romans celebrated the "Feast of the Sol Invictus" (Unconquerable Sun") on December 25. Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered in 354 that all Christians celebrate the birth of the Christ child on that day. Scholars believe that the bishop chose this date so that Christians, still members of an "outlaw religion" in the eyes of the Romans, could celebrate the birth of their Savior without danger of revealing their religious conviction, while their Roman neighbors celebrated another event. Another is that it was chosen to incorporate pagan Winter Solstice practices into the Christian faith. I tend to go with the former reason.

Another tradition of Christmas is to give gifts, and the original reasoning behind this, I believe goes back to the Magi. I find it interesting to note here, that the Magi were not necessarily, and probably were not, Jews at all. They were most likely Persian astronomers. This belief is based on the fact that they followed "a star"; and did so based on prophecy that they knew of, going back to the time when Daniel served under Nebuchadnezzar, as one of their own.

Another thing that is interesting to note, is that Jesus was no longer a newborn at the time of their arrival. He was a toddler, and not even in a stable anymore.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 NKJV

So while my family and I will continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus in December, along with many of our Christian counterparts, I beg to differ with those that say His Glorious birth occurred in December. It is certainly a reason to celebrate, but let's be clear here. Jesus was not born in December.

Having said all that, I will reiterate: We will continue to celebrate the birth of our Lord, on December 25th. It is a wonderful tradition, if nothing else. I do enjoy remembering my Lord's birth, regardless of when it actually occurred. Let's all try to remember that though His birth may be the reason for the season, we should be remembering that He came to save us, each and every day of the year. Blessings to you, and Merry Christmas.