When was Jesus born?

Image via WikipediaThis week mark the begining of 9 weeks of special Novena to Christmas. This is an interesting article taken from "Dear Padre" this week and written by Fr John Schmidt C.Ss.R :

Pinpointing the date of Jesus's birth seems an easy task; however, due to the complexity of history's various calenders and ways of calculating time, we cannot be sure of the date.

The two Gospels that detail the birth of Jesus do not give a date. Early Christians observed an annual feast to remember Jesus's death and resurrection, focusing on the paschal mystery rather than on his birth.

As Christianity grew and spread, however, Christians wanted to celebrate more events from Jesus' life. The celebration on December 25 has more to do with expression of faith in Jesus than with establishing the exact date if his birth.

December 25 is listed as the date of Jesus' birth in a fourth-century calender of martyrs, but how this date was chosen is unclear. Some Scholars believe Christians in Rome chose December 25 to counteract the celebration of the pagan sun god Emesa. Another theory follows the influences of the seasons: Early Christians believed John the Baptist was conceived on the autumnal equionx and born at the summer solstice. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus' conception took place six month after John's. That time line would place Jesus' birth at the winter solstice, December 25 on the Julian calender. A third theory says Jesus' birth would have occurred on the same date as his death, which we believe to be in the spring at Passover.

Regardless of the exact date, we celebrate Jesus as the true Son who came to enlighten us and, by his death and resurection, to give us life.