On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to
celebrate Jesus’ birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies,
brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods—these all characterize the
feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how
did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 come
to be associated with Jesus’ birthday? The Bible offers few
clues: Celebrations of Jesus’ Nativity are not mentioned in the
Gospels or Acts; the date is not given, not even the time of
year. The biblical reference to shepherds tending their flocks
at night when they hear the news of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8)
might suggest the spring lambing season; in the cold month of
December, on the other hand, sheep might well have been
corralled. Yet most scholars would urge caution about extracting
such a precise but incidental detail from a narrative whose
focus is theological rather than calendrical. The extrabiblical
evidence from the first and second century is equally spare:
There is no mention of birth celebration