Did you know that the first Christians did not celebrate Christmas? Because there is no historical proof that Jesus was born on December 25. Historians actually believe that he was born in the Spring.

So what happened?

At the beginning of the 4th century, Christianism became the official religion of the Roman Empire.  But 90 % of the population was still pagan. To simplify their conversion to Christianism, the Church decided to celebrate the birth of Christ on Dec 25, a date which coincides with 2 main pagan celebrations: The Saturnales and the celebration of Natalis Solis Invicti ( aka the birth of the undefeated God).

The Saturnales  were the most important celebrations in the Roman Empire, people used to gather with their families, decorate their houses with tinsels, sing and do good (does it ring a bell? :)). They traditionally took place between December 16 and 23.

The commemoration of Natalis was a huge celebration in honor of the Persian god of Light, Mithra, which personifies the Sun. It used to happen on Dec 25.

The first official mention of Dec 25 as the birth date of Jesus dates back to 336 AD.

Text: Morgan Hamdan with Labneh&Facts

Additional reporting: Joe Melki

Pic: Gareth Harper/Unsplash