Was Jesus Born On Christmas Day?

By Tori Harris

For many people, myself included, this is their favorite time of year. Many people are decorating their homes, shopping for Christmas gifts, or making them for friends and family, watching Christmas movies, and hearing Christmas music almost everywhere they go. There are many fun Christmas traditions that people take part in every year, like putting up a Christmas tree, hanging lights on your house, going Christmas caroling, or leaving out milk and cookies for Santa.

Some people take it a step farther. Some believe that December 25th is the birthday of Jesus Christ, and celebrate Christmas as a holy day. During this time of year, we see signs everywhere saying things like, “Joseph and Mary received the first Christmas gift,” or, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” which is a pretty little rhyme, but is it actually true? Does the Bible actually say that Jesus was born on December 25th, or is it just a tradition?

There is an account of the birth of Jesus in both Matthew and Luke, but for this article we will be looking at Luke 2:1-23.

Jesus, the Son of God, was prophesied about centuries before His birth, in passages such as Isaiah 7:14, which says, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” When you read the accounts of His birth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you can see that everything happened exactly as it was prophesied.

But when exactly was He born? Was it on Christmas Day? Let’s look at the Scriptures to see what they have to say about this question.

Luke 2:1-7 says, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

When reading this passage, specifically verses six and seven, do you see anything about Him being born on Christmas Day? It has no mention of any birthdate, it just simply says that He was born. When reading the other passage about His birth in Matthew, that does not give an exact date either.

But just because the Bible does not say when Jesus was born, does that mean that there is absolutely no possibility that He was born on Christmas Day?

There is biblical evidence in this passage that point to the most likely time for His birth.

In verse one, it says “…that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world be taxed.” So in verse three, everyone went to be taxed. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to be taxed, and Jesus was born while they were there. But did the Roman taxing, or census take place in December? Looking back at historical records, we can see that the Romans did not have censuses in December. In Judaea, there are very cold winters, and it would be too difficult to travel, making it an impractical time for a census.

Luke 2:8 says, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Judaea has harsh, cold, and rainy winters. During the winter, shepherds would not be outside with their flocks, because it was too cold.

One more thing to consider is the birth of John the baptizer in Luke 1. John and Jesus were cousins, and John was six months older than Jesus. If you can figure out the approximate time that John was born, you can find the approximate time that Jesus was born.

Zacharius, the father of John, was a priest of the course of Abia, and served in the temple during the ninth week. When we calculate that with our current calendar, his week of service in the temple was in the month of May. After his week of service, he returned home, and his wife Elisabeth conceived in that same month. Jesus was conceived six months later, in November, and was born around August or September.

This would explain why the shepherds were still out in the field with their sheep. In August and September, it was still warm weather, and it was a much more likely time for the Roman census.

These are only a few brief examples showing how unlikely it is that Jesus was born on Christmas Day. If you would like to learn more on this subject, please watch the video at the end of this article. “The Truth About Christmas” is by World Video Bible School, and is done by Don Blackwell. He takes an in-depth look at the birth of Jesus, and shows the truth about it, using the Bible.

I hope this article shows you that we do not need to automatically believe what the world says, and instead study the Scriptures and use that as our authority. People are often wrong, but God is always right.