Why We Celebrate Christmas on December 25

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Christmas on December 25th? It’s certainly not because Jesus was born on this day, for on the one hand, no scholar in the world knows the exact date of our Savior’s birth, and on the other hand, the few clues we do have in the Bible about the date of his birth point to a spring, not a winter, birth.

Furthermore, December is the darkest month of the year, it’s among the coldest and deadliest months of the year, and it’s the most depressing month of the year—more people seek psychological or pastoral help in December than in any other month, and the suicide rate is higher in December than in any other month.

So, why did our spiritual forefathers decide to celebrate Christmas on December 25th? It has to do with the winter solstice. The winter solstice—which always occurs sometime between December 20th and 23rd—is the darkest day of every year, and yet it is the beginning of brighter, longer, warmer days. Though it will be imperceptible, every day from now on will be a little longer until we reach the glory of spring and summer.

Thus, our spiritual forefathers decided to celebrate Christmas on December 25th because then it would always follow after the winter solstice. They were not so much concerned with celebrating the actual day of our Lord’s birth, rather they were concerned with celebrating the fact that the God of light had manifested himself in this dark world! They were celebrating the fact that, in our coldest hour, the warmth of God’s springtime had begun to emerge! They were celebrating the fact that, in our deadliest hour, the resurrection life of God was on its way! They were celebrating the fact that the light of Christ would have a slowly broadening influence on our lives and on the world!

Indeed, as the prophet Isaiah prophesied some 800 years before the birth of Christ, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).

Praying for eyes to see the light of Christ,
Pastor Charlie