There are many traditions that come down to us from the early centuries of the Christian Church. Celebrating Christmas on December 25th is one of those traditions. There are other Christmas traditions many people don’t even know about. It is often said that we celebrate Christmas on December 25th because that date was the pagan Roman celebration of the sun-god. Therefore, we should not celebrate Christmas because it is pagan. But that reason has little, if anything, to do with the celebration of Christmas by early Christians.
The main reason why Christians first began to celebrate Christmas on December 25th is mainly due to the belief that Jesus was conceived in Mary on the same day of the year as he later died by crucifixion. The crucifixion of Jesus happened on the Jewish feast of Passover. Some calculated that in the year that Jesus died on the cross, Passover fell on March 25th. If Jesus was conceived on March 25th, then he was born nine months later, December 25th.
There is an interesting twist to this. Christians in the eastern part of the church calculated that Passover came in the year Jesus died on the cross, on April 6th. Using the same logic, if Jesus was conceived in Mary on April 6th, he was born nine months later, on January 6th. That is why some Orthodox churches celebrate the birth of Jesus on January 6th to this day.
The plot thickens! Many Christians celebrate the feast of Christmastide. Christmastide is the same as the twelve days of Christmas. The twelve days of Christmas, Christmastide, runs from Christmas Day, December 25th, until January 5th, which is sometimes called Twelfth night, the last night of Christmastide. The next day is the feast of Epiphany, January 6th. The feast of Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Magi, the wise men, and the baptism of Jesus.
All these celebrations are traditions that may or may not be grounded in historical reality. However, the fact is that Christians want to celebrate Jesus and the critical events of Jesus’ life. This impulse is a good thing. We do not have to celebrate these traditions, but we do have to honor and love Him. We love Him because he first loved us and gave Himself for us. Celebrating Jesus is an act of worship. Let us, therefore, praise, honor, and glorify our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! He is worthy!