Sol Invictus, the Winter Solstice, and the Origins of Christmas
By Steven Hijmans
Mouseion, Number 47 (2003)
Introduction: It is well known that we do not know the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ. In most churches December 25 is celebrated as such, although the Armenian Church retains January 6 (Epiphany). But the fact is the date was not recorded. Many early Christians, or Origen indicates in AD 245, actually opposed celebrating birthdays altogether, including Christ’s, because it was deemed to be a pagan practice. All emphasis lay (and in the Orthodox church still lies) on the celebration of the passion and resurrection at Easter. In fact, the whole question of the exact date of Christ’s birthday appears to have arisen only when Christian chronographers began writing writing their chronologies.
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