In History

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December 25. Most (but not all) Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on this date. It was first identified by the Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 A.D. In his five-volume treatise Chronographiai, he calculated the day of the Annunciation (Jesus’ conception) to be March 25 in the year 1 B.C.—the first day of their calendar year and 5,500 years after the Creation of the world, according to his estimates—thereby resulting in Jesus’ birth on December 25 of the same year. Later historians also came up with the date March 25 for the Annunciation, believing that there was a connection between the date of the crucifixion, March 25, and the Annunciation.

The Eastern Church also linked Jesus’ conception and birth but placed his conception on April 6 and his birth on January 6. In Armenia, Christmas is still celebrated on January 6.

For the rest of the East and liturgical churches in the West, January 6 came to be celebrated as Epiphany, marking the arrival of the magi to the Nativity. The 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany became “the 12 days of Christmas.” Many countries—including Russia, Serbia, Egypt and Ethiopia—celebrate Christmas on January 7 and Epiphany on January 19 because they hold to the older Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the modern Gregorian calendar.

December 25. Most (but not all) Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on this date. It was first identified by the Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus in 221 A.D. In his five-volume treatise Chronographiai, he calculated the day of the Annunciation (Jesus’ conception) to be March 25 in the year 1 B.C.—the first day of their calendar year and 5,500 years after the Creation of the world, according to his estimates—thereby resulting in Jesus’ birth on December 25 of the same year. Later historians also came up with the date March 25 for the Annunciation, believing that there was […]