While the New Testament records the birth of Jesus, it does not record the specific date of His birth. Unlike modern times, people in Bible times, and for the first three centuries, did not celebrate birthdays because that was a pagan custom. So how did we decide on the birth date of Jesus?

When Antiochus desecrated the Temple by offering a swine on the holy altar of God in 167BC, he chose December 25 as the date because this was the birthday of Zeus. Zeus was the high god of Greece and considered the incarnation of the sun. Together with his goddess-mother, Rhea (the Queen of Heaven), they represented the Greek version of the mother/child cult of Babylon.

December 25th was the winter solstice, when days began to lengthen. In view of this, the ancient world of pagan sun-worshippers celebrated December 25 as the birthday of the sun. For example, to the Romans, Zeus was known as Jupiter. He was the Roman high god of the sun. The Romans celebrated December 25th (the birthday of Zeus/Jupiter) as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, “the Day of the Nativity of the Unconquered Sun.”

In the fourth century of our era, after Constantine “Christianized” Rome, he chose December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that the pagan Romans would accept the new Christian religion of Rome. Constantine, himself a sun-worshipper, may have believed Jesus to be an incarnation of Jupiter, the sun god. Because of the obvious pagan origins, many segments of Christianity condemned the observance of December 25 due to its connection to sun worship. In fact, our Pilgrim Fathers did not celebrate Christmas knowing that is was a pagan holiday that Rome had Christianized.

So when was Jesus born? It is likely that Jesus was conceived during Hanukkah. According to Luke 1:5, Zacharias was a priest of the division of Abijah. Luke 1:8 says that Gabriel appeared to Zacharias when he was serving as a priest in the temple. Based on Rabbinic writings and 1 Chronicles 24:10, the division of Abijah served as priests during the second half of the fourth month on the Jewish religious calendar. This was late June when Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist. This would mean that John the Baptist was born the next year around Passover.

According to Luke 1:24-26, Mary conceived Jesus in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. This means that Jesus was conceived during the latter part of the Jewish month of Kislev, or late December on the Gentile calendar. Jesus was born nine months later, most likely at the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah or at Tabernacles (Succot).

Micah 4:8 says that King-Messiah will be born in Bethlehem at the Tower of the Flock where sacrificial Passover lambs were born and wrapped in swaddling clothes and put in a manger (limestone rock). Think about that. But this is another subject.

By-the-way, John the Baptist was not a Baptist, Mary was not a Catholic and Jesus was not a Christian. THEY WERE ALL JEWS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS