The Biblical Date of Christmas

One of the popular trends among Christians recently has been a rejection of December 25th as the date of Christ's birth.  Now, I can't claim to know for certain whether Christ was born on any particular day, but after studying the history of the Christmas celebration, I've come to the conclusion that the December 25th date has some significant biblical support and was not likely to have been chosen because of it's significance in the pagan calendar as many Christians now claim.  I recently taught a Sunday School lesson on this question, and I'd like to share my outline with you to aid in your own study.

The Date of Christmas – Luke 2:1-11
 

1. There are many claims about why Dec 25th was chosen
   1. Most popular claim – to coincide with pagan celebrations
      1. There are several pagan celebrations that have been celebrated in late Dec
         1. Saturnalia
         2. Winter’s Solstice
         3. Etc.
      2. Beginning in the fourth century, the Catholics adopted some of the pagan celebrations as Christian holidays
         1. Samhein became Halloween
   2. Refuting the claim
      1. It is practically impossible to pick a day in any month that is not associated with at least one pagan celebration
         1. Many Christians place Christ’s birth in the spring, but there are numerous pagan celebrations around the spring equinox
      2. The date of December 25th for Christmas was chosen during the third century when Christians were heavily persecuted and sought to distance themselves from paganism
         1. The adoption of pagan rituals was a practice of the Catholic church which did not form until Constantine made it the official church of his empire during fourth century
         2. Just prior to Constantine, the Christians suffered massive persecution under Diocletian
         3. The earliest reference to December 25th date for Christmas comes from the Donatists, a sect that formed during the persecution of Diocletian
         4. The Donatists were known for their adherence to the early teachings of Christianity and their refusal to accept any pagan influence
   3. An alternative claim – that Jesus was born in the spring
      1. Based primarily on the shepherds in Luke 2:8
         1. Claims that shepherds would only be in the field during the spring lambing season
   4. Refuting the claim
      1. There are other reasons for shepherds to watch over their flocks at night
         1. Predators
         2. Robbers
2. Why I think December 25th is the correct date
   1. Consider the source
      1. The date was first suggested by the Donatists and not the Catholics
   2. Consider the Scripture
      1. Zacharias served during the course of Abia
         1. One of the 24 courses of priests – I Chron 24:10
         2. Each course served for one week – II Chron 23:8
         3. Abia was the eighth course and Zacharias would have served during the eighth week of the year – I Chron 24:10
         4. Each course also served a second week later in the year
         5. Zacharias would have also served on the 32nd week of the year
      2. Elizabeth conceived after Zacharias’ course – Luke 1:24
      3. Mary conceived six months later – Luke 1:26
         1. Referring to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy not to the sixth month of the year – see vs. 24
      4. Jesus would have been born nine months later – Luke 2:6
      5. Converting the Jewish calendar to the Gregorian calendar
         1. Zacharias’ second course was the last week of Heshvan
         2. Mary’s conception was the first week of Iyar
         3. Christ’s birth was about the first week of Shevat
         4. In 3 BC, the first day of Shevat corresponds with Dec 28 on the Gregorian calendar
         5. In 4 BC, the first day of Shevat corresponds with January 8th on the Gregorian calendar
         6. From the fourth century even up to today, Christians have primarily debated 2 different dates for the birth of Christ
            1. Western Christianity has traditionally celebrated Christmas on December 25th
            2. Eastern Christianity has traditionally celebrated Christmas on January 6th
            3. The difference between these two is the source of the traditional 12 days of Christmas
         7. Both dates correspond perfectly to the calculation of Christ’s birth from Zacharias’ second week of service in the course of Abia