December 25th, the Birth of our Saviour

Warning: This blog post may contain some science.

In class we talked about the significance of the Christmas story, a story about a new born, happening during the middle of winter.  Why do we assume Jesus was born during the winter?  There in fact are no clear references to what season He was born.  So why does most of the world celebrate Christmas (or the equivalent holiday) on December 25th?

It is believed that this decision was made by the early Christian church in the 3rd or 4th century. It is easy to assume that the exact date of the birth of Christ would have been recorded and known by the church leaders at this point.  Lately many Biblical scholars have debating when Christ was actually born ( http://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/biblical-evidence-shows-jesus-christ-wasnt-born-on-dec-25 ). Most scholars agree that it is far more likely that Christ was born during the Spring or Summer than in the Winter.  So we're left with the question: Why the Dec. 25th?

It is a known fact that many Christian traditions (especially concerning Christmas, e.g. The Christmas Tree) were adopted from pagan traditions.  One of the suggested reasons behind the 25th of December is the Roman holiday of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. During this holiday, Romans would celebrate the birth of the sun god. This holiday took place on the 21st of December on a date known to astronomers as the Winter Solstice.  During the Winter Solstice is the date where the Northern hemisphere experiences the shortest day because the northern axis of the Earth is pointed directly away from the Sun.

This seems logical, but why the 25th and not the 21st?  The position of the Sun and Moon were closely observed by cultures back then, they would have known that the Winter Solstice took place on the 21st and not the 25th.  Perhaps the reason is even more complex.  Examine what happens to the position of the mid-day Sun each day. On December 21st the height of the Sun is at a yearly low.  During the next three days (December 22-24), the Sun appears to remain at this yearly low.  Then on December 25th, the Sun begins to rise again.  Hmmm, this seems familiar...  It is exactly the story of Easter (with maybe an extra day thrown in if you really want to nit-pick).  I can't assert that early church leaders were trying to foreshadow Christ's death and resurrection during his birth, but it is awfully curious.