However, it is necessary to reconsider the belief that Jesus was born on that day, which is not recorded in the Bible or anywhere else.
If the birth of Christ didn't make Christmas special on the calendar, what did? To find the answer, you need to look at the traditions of ancient Persia and pagans.
First, let's take a quick look at why Christmas may not be Jesus' birthday.
As the Catholic Encyclopedia says, "There is not a month in a year when an honorable authority does not indicate the birth of Christ" (Catholic Encyclopedia).
However, there are several reasons to support the view that Jesus was not born in December.
Luke 2:8 says that on the night when Jesus was born, "there were shepherds living outside the gate in that place, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Scholars tend to think that shepherds are unlikely to be with sheep in cold winter.
The mosaic of "Good Shepherd" is in plessy Dia Mausoleum in Gallas.
Unesco world heritage.
Lavaine, Italy.
In the 5th century AD (CC South America), few scholars believed that shepherds observed their sheep on a night in 65438+February-they were more likely to hide them.
Luke 2: 1-4 also said that when Jesus was born, Yue Se and Mary would go to Bethlehem to take part in the Roman census.
These censuses did not know that it happened in winter, so it is impossible to link Jesus' birthday with Christmas now. Okay, so Jesus may not have been born on February 25th, 65438.
However, for ancient pagans, other important events did happen at that time of year.
The most famous celebrations are Saturnalia and Mitra's birthday. Initially, Saturnalia Festival was held in 65438+February 65438+July, but it was extended to 65438+February 25th.
This celebration is to commemorate Saturn, the god of sowing and animal husbandry, and is associated with the arrival of the new year and the return of light.
The ancient Romans celebrated this day with banquets, gifts, parties and sacrifices in Saturn's temples.
The crapper on this Roman mural is from Ostria Della of Pompeii, passing through Di Mercury.
Saturnalia is a "rest time" for slaves, who can wear beautiful clothes and gamble at the dinner table.
Roman pagans who worship Mitra believe that he was born on February 25th, 65438, which is the holiest day of the year for many ancient believers.
This is a famous ceremony of the Roman army from 1 to the 4th century.
But Mitra is a god. He originated in Persia, around the 6th century BC.
The original Indo-Iranians called him Mitra, but later the name was changed to Mitra by the Greeks.
Many scholars believe that Roman soldiers discovered this god when they completed military operations in Persia. Mitra's New Year and Mitra's birthday are celebrated on February 25th, 65438.
This day is part of Nathalis Invitational Festival in Rome, which is a celebration related to sun worship, Mitra statue and old illustrations in Vatican Library.
The author's identity is unknown, and it was published in 1840 "Pitor Sk" magazine.
When Constantine converted to Christianity in the 4th century, he probably didn't realize how difficult it was to convert pagans to Christianity.
In order to alleviate this change, the birth of Jesus was associated with the pagan festival in June+February of 5438.
Because pagan festivals have Christian significance, it is decided that the birthday of the sun god should also be the birthday of the son of God.
The Catholic Encyclopedia quoted an early Christian as saying, "Oh, how wonderful God was on the day when the sun was born.
Christ should be born ",by Thomas Cooter, author of The Head: Decadent Rome (1847).