The first recorded celebration of Christmas

I read somewhere that Dec. 25 was chosen because that's the first day after the winter solstice that the sun can be seen to be moving north by observation of long shadows, especially if the place the shadow falls on the solstice day sunset is marked.

 

I have never believed that December the 25th was the birth of Jesus but I do feel that this following link explain the circumstances surrounding the event... God is a God of order and if Jesus was born at the same time the Feast Of Tabernacles occurred, then those who don't buy into, same as me, might see the real truth... Comments???... Brother Glen

The Pagan Beliefs Surrounding Christmas/The Date Jesus was Born - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

 

Has there been research into when the enrollment was taken in Bethlehem?

Would not that at least narrow down the year and month, if not even the week?

 

In those days, people didn't have Uber or Lyft to take them wherever. Most had to journey by walking ot riding a camel or a donkey, neither of which set any land speed records. It took time , first for the tax edict to reach Joseph, & then, for them to reach Bethlehem, as Mary was late in her pregnancy, so they had to go slowly & gently.

Quirinius was governor of Syria twice, but the one we're concerned with was from 14 to around 6 BC. Quirinius, by a succession of military actions & diplomatic negotiations, had subdued a tribe called the Homonadenses, which had arisen in Cilicia, next to Syria. He remained in Syria until he was sure the Hs would remain loyal to Rome. (Quirinius returned as Governor for a little while when Rome deposed Herod's son Archelaus as ruler of Judea, as the Jews detested him & were threatening to rebel.)

Meanwhile Augustus Caesar decreed a census for the purpose of taxation. Quirinius announced this edict in Judea as well as Syria, and in this csnsus, as well as later ones, every man was required to register in his home town. As Joseph had been born in Bethlehem, he had to go there to register.

Quirinius left the area late in 6 BC, so that places Jesus' birth in that year, as He was age 2 in 4 BC when Herod sought His life & later died that year.(The magi had first seen the star 2 years earlier.)

As for the TIME OF YEAR, let alone the exact date, we aren't too sure. It wasn't the dead of winter, as the shepherds still had their sheep in the fields, & stayed in the fields themselves. (While winter there isn't as long as it is in most of North America, it gets cold enough for the sheep to be kept in sheepfolds rather than staying outside 24/7.)
(Also, when the magi arrived, they found Jesus in a home in Nazareth, not in the manger in Bethlehem where He was born.)

While we can't track down the exact time of Jesus' birth, the IMPORTANT thing is that HE WAS BORN AS A HUMAN & DIED FOR OUR SINS!

 

While we can't track down the exact time of Jesus' birth, the IMPORTANT thing is that HE WAS BORN AS A HUMAN & DIED FOR OUR SINS!... That is exactly what my wife said... But I have learned in my studies to dig deeper and usually when I mine the riches of truths I just add to the knowledge I already have... To some that is not important but to me it is... And it usually comes when I not looking for it, from another source I never considered, that shows God is a God of order... And the day of his birth is the day God picked, not man, and it was for a reason... Brother Glen

 

No, I haven't been talking to your wife-I have one of my own. (47 years)

Studying Scripture, science/archaeology, & history together yields much!