Millions of people in and around the world celebrate December 25 as the birth date of Jesus Christ. But it has been reported by many scholars that he was not born on that day and not even in the year 1 A.D. There are many reasons as to why researchers believe that the Roman Catholic Church settled onto the day December 25. It is believed that the day collides with the winter solstice and the Saturnalia which is a festival dedicated to the Roman divinity Saturn. This day is chosen to celebrate Jesus’ birthday as the Church would be able to co-opt the famous pagan festival along with the winter celebrations of the other pagan religions. Nobody really knows as to when Jesus was born.
Based partially on the biblical story of Herod the Great, scholars have reported that Jesus was born between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. Herod’s demise occurred in the 4 B.C. Before his death, the ruler of Judea ordered to kill each and every male infant under the age of two who lived in the vicinity of Bethlehem, in order to kill Jesus Christ. But historians disagree in this context. They do not agree with the actual year of death of Herod.
Some scholars have tried correlating the birth year of Jesus with the Star of Bethlehem which indicated Jesus’ birth with the astronomical events. There is also a debate on the month of birth of Jesus. Dave Reneke, an astronomer, said that the birth of Jesus happened in summer. Reneke stated that the Star of Bethlehem may have been due to coming together of Venus and Jupiter to form a bright light in the sky. Reneke presented the fact through computer models that this event occurred on June 17 in the year 2 B.C. Some other researchers have claimed that Jesus was an autumn baby as they found a similar conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter which occurred in October of 7 B.C. Some theologians also suggest that Jesus was born in spring based on some tale that the shepherds were looking over their flocks in the fields on the night Jesus was born. It is something that they would have done during the spring and not during winter.
