Many, many people believe that the date of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is December 25, is originally the feast of the Sun (Sol Invictus). Unfortunately, many Christians believe this, but we will show that this belief is wrong by the grace of Christ
First, we start with the historian Julius Africanus (Sextus Julius Africanus)
He said that the world was founded on March 25 and Christ was born in December. Whether you agree with this historian or not, his testimony remains an ancient historical testimony. The reference is in the two pictures below
We come to a very important testimony of Saint Hippolytus, born in 170 AD, in his interpretation of the Book of Daniel, he said that Christ was born in Bethlehem on December 25 and that he suffered on the cross on Friday, March 25. Of course, he has a manuscript dating back to 205 AD, and this is a very important testimony, and the references are below
We now come to the Roman Emperor Aurelian, born in 215 AD and died in 275 AD. He held the position of emperor from 270 to 275 AD. This reference is below
He sought to subjugate the diverse religions of the Roman Empire to the cult of the invincible sun (Sol Invictus) and thus create a kind of religious unity that came only later with Constantine. Reference below
We note that before Aurelian decided to subject the Roman Empire to the worship of the sun on December 25, Saint Hippolytus was saying that the date of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was on December 25 by more than 70 years, as there is a manuscript dating back to the year 205 by Saint Hippolytus in which he talks about the date of the birth of Christ on December 25 as in the reference above, but perhaps Aurelian took this date from the Christians
I would also like to add an important point, Saint Irenaeus, who wrote three books against heresies and resisted them, and the fathers who were martyred for refusing to worship other gods, it is unreasonable for them to take a holiday for a foreign god and attribute it to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Also, the book of the Didascalian Apostles’ Teaching says that Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of the ninth Hebrew month, which corresponds to December 25, and the reference in English and Arabic is below
Also, Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, in his writing says 6 days before the month of November, or in other words, Christ was baptized 60 days before the date of his birth. So when he says 6 days before the month of November, he means that Christ was baptized on October 25, 60 days before the date of his birth, which is December 25. The reference is below
Also, Saint Augustine in his interpretation of the Book of Psalms says that on the 24th of John the days begin to shorten and on the date of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, December 25, the days begin to lengthen until John the Baptist says that he must increase and I must decrease and these words are found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 2, Verse 30 and the references are below
The relationship of Christ with the temple
It was mentioned in the second book of Maccabees, chapter 10, verse 5
And it happened that on the same day that the strangers defiled the temple, on that same day, then the temple was cleansed, which is the twenty-fifth day of that month, which is the month of Chislev
And it is the date of December 25, and it was also mentioned in the book of Haggai, chapter 2, verse 18
So make your heart from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day on which the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid, make your heart
So we notice that the date of the cleansing of the temple is December 25, and the date of the foundation of the temple is December 24
And this leads us to the words of the Lord Christ when he said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, so the Jews said to him, It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?
This text is found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 2, Verse 20
Saint Augustine multiplied 46 by the number 6, and it is known that the number 6 in the Christian faith, 6 symbolizes man, and it is the sixth day on which God created man, as in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, from Verse 26 to Verse 31
So the result of multiplying 46 by 6, as Saint Augustine did, is 276 days, which is 9 months, the duration of a woman’s pregnancy with the fetus
He also adds, saying that the church adheres to the tradition of the elders, which says that the Lord Jesus Christ was conceived on March 25, and this is the day on which he suffered, and that he was born on December 25, and the reference is below
The difference between the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar
The truth is that there is no difference in the sun's time calendar
Gregorian calendar 365.2422
Julian calendar 365.25
There is a difference of 13 days between the two calendars, the Julian calendar is behind the Gregorian calendar
13 (December 25 to December 31) (6 days)
6-13= 7 days, which is January 7
And in the end, glory be to the Lord of lords and the King of kings
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