December 23, 2009

Q:Does the date of Christmas come from a pagan holiday?

A: Unfortunately, there are few instances where exact dates are recorded in the Scriptures.  The day of our Lord’s birth is one of the places where there is scant evidence in the Bible.  Regarding the date of Christmas, there are prevalent theories that the early Christians “took” the feasts and dates associated with pagan deities and gave them a Christian meaning.

  For example, Dec. 25 was a feast celebrated by Romans as the birth of the god Mithras, known as the Son of God and Light of the World.  In addition, the birth of the god Invincible (or Unconquerable) Sun (Sol Invictus) was celebrated on the date of the winter solstice (Dec. 21 or 22 in the northern hemisphere).  The Christians could then reasonably look at these feasts and say that they celebrate the birth of the true Son of God and real Light of the World, Jesus Christ. 

After Christianity becomes a legally recognized religion in the fourth century, the Christians did take some pagan celebrations, purify them, and then infuse them with Christian meaning.  However, there is evidence that Dec. 25 was celebrated as the date of Christ’s birth before the legalization of Christianity.  This is important because while Christianity was illegal the Christians were eager to disassociate themselves from pagan practices and in no way identify with them.  It is only after they can practice their religion without fear of persecution that we see some attempts to “baptize” and “Christianize” pagan celebrations.

To answer the question, though, we can look to traditions within the Church for some clues.  The argument for the Nativity occurring in December is based on the early Christian belief that Christ’s conception and crucifixion occurred on the same date—March 25.  Tertullian wrote in the early third century that Christ’s death took place on March 25.  Moreover, St. Hippolytus of Rome wrote in 204 A.D. that the date of Christ’s birth was Dec. 25, thus making his conception March 25 (this is based on a nine-month gestation period).  Finally, in the fifth century, St. Augustine relates these traditions saying, “For he (Jesus) is believed to be conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered. … But he was born, according to tradition, upon December the 25th.”

This week’s apologist is Ben Akers, S.T.L., director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Catechetical School. E-mail your question to editor@archden.org or mail to 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210.