Christmas 2022: Why does festival fall on 25 December every year?

As the festival of Christmas draws closer, people around the corner have kicked off their preparation to welcome the delightful festival. From decorating houses with Christmas trees and glittery lights to presenting gifts to loved ones, this winter festivity is celebrated with much enthusiasm all across the globe. Though the majority of Christians commemorate the day as the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ, there are several theories behind choosing the date of 25 December to mark Christmas. Here, we will look into some of such theories that tell us the tale of why Christmas is celebrated on 25 December:

• Since the Bible doesn’t provide a specific date, no one is aware of when Jesus was actually born. As claimed by the Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus, Jesus was conceived on 25 March. Africanus also believed that it was the day when the world was created. Thus, counting the period of nine months in his mother’s womb, Jesus’ birthday would fall on 25 December.
• The Roman Empire, which had not embraced Christianity until the third century, used to observe the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun, Sol Invictus, on 25 December. This event mirrored the well-known Roman festival known as the Saturnalia. It also heralded the return of longer days post the winter solstice during which people feasted and exchanged gifts. It was also the birthday of the Indo-European god Mithra, who was worshipped by Roman troops as a symbol of dedication and enlightenment.
• In 336 CE, under the rule of Emperor Constantine, the Church formally started celebrating Christmas on 25 December. Some have hypothesized that choosing this date had the specific objective of weakening long-established pagan rituals because Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor, had made Christianity the official religion of the kingdom. However, for another fifty years, the date was not commonly acknowledged in the Eastern parts of the empire, where the occasion was celebrated on 6 January. Christmas did not blossom into a major Christian holiday until the ninth century.

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