We know that Jessus born at 25th december. But first day of a year is first january. Why delay seven days to starting a new year?

-- Sharif (emrsharif@hotmail.com), March 23, 2004

Answers

Actually we dont know when Jesus was Birn, the date, 25 december, was selected as ti was already a popular feast day among Pagans who had converted to Christ. To make things easier on them, the Chruch redesegnated the Holiday as a commemoration of the Birht of Our Lord.

The actual Birthday of Jesusis Unknown, and was not celebrated for the first 4 centuries.

also, the Birth of Jesus is not designed ot be a new year celebration, but a Birthday Celebration. Their is no real relationshoip between the beginning of the year and Jesus's Birth.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 23, 2004.

Actually, the idea that Christmas is dated to Dec. 25 because that was a pagan feastday (i.e. the birth of the Sun God) is false and was debunked years ago. The use of Dec. 25 as the birth of the Sun God was not instituted until under the Aurelian Emperors in A.D. 251. The celebration of Christmas dates to ca. A.D. 190 (mentioned in a fragment of Hippolytus of that date) or even earlier. The Christian origin of the date is probably Biblical. In LK 1:5-25 it says that the priest Zachary "entered the temple to burn incense" -- ancient Christians knew that entering the temple was something only the High Priest could do and then only on Yom Kippur. So they thought Zachary must have been a high priest (whether this is right or not is irrelevent to the logic of the date--I am not arguing that the ancient Christians were right). Yom Kippur was believed to be about the date Sept. 24 or so. Zachary went home and conceived his son John the Baptism. He was thus born 9 months later on Jun. 24. Jesus was 6 months younger than John (Lk 1:26). So Jesus was born on the night of Dec. 24/25. Or so ancient Christians reasoned. The pagans seem to have put the Sun God's birth on that date to counter the popular Christian feast.

-- Interested-Party (no-spam@notmail.com), March 25, 2004.

Well, I seem to have erred then. Syill, the Birht of Jesus has no direct baring on the daye of the New Year, the two events are wholly irrelevant, and indeed, some older calenders had the new year begin April 1. ( April Fools Day.) It was later changed for some reaosn or another.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 25, 2004.

Interested Party,

I have never heard that before. I'd like to look at the evidence more closely. Can you reference the Hyppolytus quote?

Neat,

Dano

-- Dan Garon (boethius61@yahoo.com), March 25, 2004.

Dan,
Read the old Catholic Encyclopedia article on the subject.

In Christ,
Bill

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@Hotmail.com), March 27, 2004.