The Roman Empire, before it recognized Christianity, celebrated the rebirth of Sol Invictus (Roman god of the sun) on Dec. 25, a date which coincided with the Roman festival Saturnalia, when people feasted and exchanged gifts.
The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in 336, during the reign of the emperor Constantine. As Constantine had made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that choosing this date had the political motive of weakening the established pagan celebrations.
The earliest mention of 25 December as Jesus' date of birth comes from a mid-fourth century Roman almanac that lists the dates of death of various Christian bishops and martyrs. The first date listed, 25 December, is marked: natus Christus in Betleem Judaea: Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea.
Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.
The first official mention of December 25 as a holiday honoring Jesus' birthday appears in an early Roman calendar from AD 336.
Archeologists say they have traced the origins of the first Christmas to be celebrated on 25 December, 300 years before the birth of Christ. The original event marked the consecration of the ancient world's largest sun god statue, the 34m tall, 200 ton Colossus of Rhodes.
Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus's birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The earliest Christians did not celebrate his birth.
The church in Rome began celebrating Christmas on December 25 in the 4th century during the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, possibly to weaken pagan traditions.
"Reasons range from the belief that 'every day is a holy day,' as promoted by some Quakers, to a desire to observe those days the Bible emphasizes, such as the Old Testament holy days, while others, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, suggest any birthday, even that of Jesus, shouldn't be celebrated," writes Mark A Kellner ...
Jesus' name in Hebrew was “Yeshua” which translates to English as Joshua.
The answer is Jesus didn't have a formal last name or surname like we do today.
Aramaic is best known as the language Jesus spoke. It is a Semitic language originating in the middle Euphrates. In 800-600 BC it spread from there to Syria and Mesopotamia. The oldest preserved inscriptions are from this period and written in Old Aramaic.
First, Roman Magistrate Julius Aficanus believed that conception took place on March 25 and nine months later would be Dec. 25. Secondly, in third century Rome, winter solstice was celebrated on Dec. 25.
The first time the birth of Jesus Christ was attributed to the date December 25 was in the 4th century, according to early Roman history. Early celebrations of Christmas are thought to have derived from Roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest, and the winter solstice.
According to the Courier-Journal, a Washington, D.C. church started a summer donation drive in 1942 to gather holiday gifts to send to missions around the world in time for Christmas. They called it Christmas in July.
St Augustine of Canterbury was the person who probably started the widespread celebration of Christmas in large parts of England by introducing Christianity to the regions run by the Anglo-Saxons in the 6th century (other Celtic parts of Britain were already Christian but there aren't many documents about if or how ...
The presence of hymns for the feast in the Georgian Iadgari demonstrates that it was celebrated in Jerusalem by the 6th century at the latest. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome on December 25, AD 336. In the 3rd century, the date of the nativity was the subject of great interest.
Years later I learned that Christmas actually predated Christianity by about 2,000 years. Many ancient nations created their own midwinter festivals and celebrations—which later morphed into Christmas—to honor the sun and other gods around the time of the winter solstice.
Well, actually there is no year 0; the calendar goes straight from 1 BC to 1 AD, complicating the process of calculating years. Most scholars believe that Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC (Before Christ) and that he died between 30 and 36 AD (Anno Domini, latin for "in the year of the lord").
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
The word Christmas comes from Middle English Cristemasse, which in turn comes from Old English Cristes-messe, literally meaning Christ's Mass. Of course, we are not talking about the physical mass of Christ's body. The origin of mass, in the Christian sense of the word, is not entirely clear.
Jesus died, therefore, on Friday, April 3, AD 33 at about 3 p.m., a few hours before the beginning of Passover day and the Sabbath. This is the date in the Julian calendar, which had been introduced in 45 BC, and follows the convention that historical dates adhere to the calendar in use at the time.
"That terrible Friday has been called Good Friday because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter, the very pinnacle of Christian celebrations," the Huffington Post reported.