Three Centuries Before Christ's Birth, People Celeberated 25 December, Archaeologists Claim

Independent (UK) ^ | 12-24-2003 | Dr David Keys

[blam]

Three centuries before Christ's birth, people celebrated 25 December, archaeologists claim

By David Keys Archaelology Correspondent
24 December 2003

Archeologists say they have traced the origins of the first Christmas to be celebrated on 25 December, 300 years before the birth of Christ. The original event marked the consecration of the ancient world's largest sun god statue, the 34m tall, 200 ton Colossus of Rhodes.

It has long been known that 25 December was not the real date of Christ's birth and that the decision to turn it into Jesus's birthday was made by Constantine, the Roman Emperor, in the early 4th century AD. But experts believe the origins of that decision go back to 283 BC, when, in Rhodes, the winter solstice occurred at about sunrise on 25 December.

The event was preserved by academics on Rhodes or in Alexandria, and seems to have been passed to Caesar by the Hellenistic Egyptian scientists, who advised him on his calendrical reforms.

The date was chosen because the emperor seems to have believed that the Roman sun god and Christ were virtually one and the same, and the sun's birthday had been decreed as 25 December some 50 years earlier by one of Constantine's predecessors, the Emperor Aurelian. He, in turn, seems to have chosen 25 December because, ever since Julius Caesar's calendar reforms of 46 BC, that date had been fixed as the official winter solstice, even though the real date for the solstice in Caesar's time was 23 December.

Dr Alaric Watson, one of the British historians involved in the current research and author of the major book on the period, Aurelian and the Third Century, said: "Constantine's choice of 25 December as the day on which to celebrate the birth of his divine patron, Christ, must be viewed in terms of the tradition on which Aurelian had drawn and which may well have originated in the celebration of the winter solstice at Rhodes some six centuries earlier.

"Constantine clearly saw his divine patron, initially Sol Invictus but later Christ, in much the same way as Aurelian had done. The imagery of Christ, like that of the ruler cults of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, owed much to solar theology."

Jesus's real date of birth is not known, although various different pre-4th century traditions and computations put it either in the January to March period or in November.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Constantine the Great: the man and his times" by Michael Grant. **

I will have to read this. I've already read Eusebius' book on the hiastory of Christianity.
I'm still looking for a good detailed book on the Council at Nicea. Any suggestions?

[SeeRushToldU_So]

Everything about X-mas is pagan.

[#3Fan]

Pastor Arnold Murray ,Shepherds Chapel does an interesting study of the biblical record of Christs' birth and suggests (as have others that Christ was concieved in late Dec. and a babe in the manger in March.Bears consideration for its' logic.Our modern centrism ignores the fact that in the Scripture there is evidence the Jews did recognize life in the womb.

No, Murray goes with ~ Sept 29 date for the birth. That's when taxes were collected and it coincides with the Feast of Tabernacles explaining why there was no room at the inn.

[MissAmericanPie]

Jesus was concieved Dec. 25th. Using the time of the year that Zacharias was serving in the temple, when he was struck dumb by the angel of the Lord when he learned of Elisabeths conception of John the Baptist one can pinpoint the time of John the Baptists conception. Using that one can determine the time of Christs conception. Dec. 25th. Jesus was born in Sept.

Isn't that about the time of the "Feast of Trumpets"? I'll have to look that up.

[madison10]

Read somewhere recently that Christ's birthdate was September 11. May have been Bible Codes. (yeah, yeah, I know)

[#3Fan]

Zacahariah's Course of Abia in June, very good. Jesus was conceived 6 months after the Course of Abia, so that would've been December. He was born ~ Sept 29, September being the birthmonth of Kings.

[madison10]

So if Christ was born in September, possibly the 11th, Sept. 11, 2001 would have been almost exactly the 2000th anniversary of His birth? or is the year off, too?

Maybe the Islamists know something we don't.

[JudyB1938]

Thank you for posting that.

[MHGinTN]

Makes sense to me ... His conception was the beginning of His sojourn with us, the beginning of His earthly bodily existence. Of course, having access to Time at all locations, He may show up before or after His ressurection. [Didn't Daniel meet Him by the river Chabar?]

[#3Fan]

So if Christ was born in September, possibly the 11th, Sept. 11, 2001 would have been almost exactly the 2000th anniversary of His birth? or is the year off, too? Maybe the Islamists know something we don't.

I think if you look at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles that it's highly unlikely Christ was born on the 11th. Plus I think it's been figured that He was born in 4 or 3 BC.

[Skywalk]

The information I referred to was not taken from an atheist site.

And it still seems like a great deal of it is confirmed by sources outside of Ulansey(and within.)

[lizma]

What else have these ignorant excuses discovered that everyone else (over 40) has know all their lives?

LOL. I agree. The church went into "can't beat em, join em" mode and it worked beautifully.

This year we got gifts from several Jewish people, 2 Buddist, 2 Hindus, a Shinto and a Muslim.

"Peace on earth, Good will towards men" is a powerful message. It has no boundaries.

[RightWhale]

Everything about X-mas is pagan.

Not at all. Some of that is pre-Christian, that is Christian, but before the birth of Christ. Yeah, there is such a thing. They knew He was coming and started celebrating early.

[DallasMike]

Verse 5 goes on to say, "Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good."

Whatever its origins, Christmas trees have been appropriated by Christians because of what they symbolize. Evergreen trees that do not "die" in winter like other trees are a sign of hope throughout winter -- hope in the promise that the rest of nature too will awaken to new life in the coming spring. The Christmas tree message is nothing but this: through Jesus Christ we also have hope for everlasting life, and that hope will not disappoint us.

Christmas trees are nothing to be afraid of or shunned because of some pagan past, real or imagined. They're our trees now!

[Redcoat LI]

Of course they weren't celebrating christmas,thats silly,
They were obviously celebrating Kwanzaa.

[greenwolf]

Gods, Graves, Glyphs List for articles regarding early civilizations , life of all forms, - dinosaurs - etc. Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this ping list.

Please add me.

[farmfriend]

Consider yourself added. If you ever change your mind, or I get you on the wrong list, just let me know.

[Amelia]

The information I referred to was not taken from an atheist site.

Vermont Lt's post is pretty much word-for-word from the atheist site. You said that Vermont Lt beat you to the punch in posting the information that came from the atheist site...

[Vermont Lt]

I stand in awe. The internet is truly a magnificant tool.

[Vermont Lt]

Mine was taken from the atheist site. It just happened to be the first or second one that came up in google...I read it in some other book years ago.