Overview
- The Gospels do not name a date for Jesus’ birth, and historians report no evidence that it occurred on December 25.
- Details such as shepherds keeping night watch and a census that required travel suggest conditions unlikely for Judean winters.
- Scholars link the chosen date to Roman festivals for Sol Invictus and Saturnalia, reframed to support conversion and the symbolism of returning light after the solstice.
- Church practice coalesced in late antiquity, with December 25 marked by Pope Leo I in 440 and the feast made official in the empire in 529.
- Alternate timelines propose spring or autumn births, with some calculations pointing to summer based on priestly service schedules.