The Origin As I Have Understood It

When I was in my Roman History era of life, which is still continuing, way to stick with it me, is that the celebration of Christmas was placed on the same date as the Pagan holiday of the Birthday of the Infinite Sun God. Also known as Dies Natalis Solis Invicti for those of you that speak Latin. This was done to encourage Pagans to convert to the new state religion of Christianity. That there may have been some depression or negative feelings towards Christianity during the dark winter months, leading to Christians going back to their Pagan roots. This addition of a holiday that’s Christ centered was meant to bring people together and celebrate the birth of Christ. I learned this from the History of Rome podcast, episode 18 I believe. If I got anything wrong, it’s been months since I listened to that episode so, please forgive me.

I personally don’t have a problem with this origin. I don’t think I’ve ever thought of December 25th as definitely being our Saviors birthday since it would have been a miracle if a paper record had lasted the last two thousand years, if one had even been made in that manger. What about the government intervention? You might ask. If you live in the US, we’ve had holidays changed and added in the last few years. Take Indiginous People Day for example. In terms of persecution, Emporer Constantine was said to have openly started supporting Christianity in 324 AD, where persecution may have started for the Pagans. Persecution is wrong regardless of where it’s coming from and who is targetted but the mutual tolerance declared prior gave them 50 years of Sol Invicticing (Sol Invictus being founded in 274 by Aurelian) before potential persecution. Sol Invictus is said to have written references up until 387 AD. (I’m referencing wikipedia for now, I’m a hobbyist, not a historian, I’m happy to make any corrections where needed)

What’s Changed?

Hippolytus of Rome is what! I heard of him from a Wes Huff video explaining that Christmas has roots prior to the 274 AD implementation of Sol Invictus. With the earliest document referencing Jesus Christ birth of December 25th being the Chronograph of 354? What? That’s after Sol Invictus… Ah, but Hippolytus lived from 170 to 235 AD and he suggested in his writing, the Chronicon (add that to your read list) that Christ was conceived on the Roman Vernal Equinox of March 25th and then born, 9 months later on the 25th of December on the Roman Winter Solstice. The Chronicon was written in 234 or 235 AD.

Conclusion

Christmas is meant to bring us together in celebration of our Saviour regardless of if it’s his real birthdate. In a world full of consumerism, we often forget that and lose whats special about the holiday season. I will still be learning more about our by Hippolytus and the origins of Christmas, but in the end, we won’t know for sure when Christ was born until we meet him, and at that point, is your first question really going to be, “when were you born?”

Sources (bad ones for sure):

A bit about Hippolytus: Biblical Archaeology Did Sol have anything to do with the 25th?: Google Books Christmas: Wikipedia Chronograph of 354: Wikipedia Sol Invictus: Wikipedia Hippolytus of Rome: Wikipedia Calculating Christmas: Fairfield EDU