[Pudding Biafra]

Thank you for the information. So, does the celebration of Dec 25 pre-Sol Invictus mean that Christ was born on that day? Perhaps the more important question is: does it matter?

[Philo-Junius]

"So, does the celebration of Dec 25 pre-Sol Invictus mean that Christ was born on that day? Perhaps the more important question is: does it matter?"

The likely precedence of Christmas on Dec. 25 has no bearing at all on the date of Jesus' actual birth, of course. More likely it is indeed an outgrowth of the old proto-Talmudic belief that prophets were conceived and died on the same day. The whole issue only matters because it is used by atheists to embarass the child-like faith of some, when in fact, upon investigation, their own certitudes are usually even more naive and less thoughtfully considered.