The Christian Origins of Christmas

Host Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives explores the historical origins of Christmas, drawing on John Berger’s article "The Roundabout Way: Early Christians Determine the Date of Christmas" and the scholarship Berger cites, including a professor of history referenced in the piece. The episode walks through early Christian attempts to calculate the date of Christ’s birth and death: how Latin Christians settled on March 25 for Christ’s death/conception by applying the Jewish notion of "integral age" and connections to Passover/14 Nisan, which then produced December 25 (and January 6/7 in the East) as the Nativity. It also explains how Emperor Aurelian’s 274 A.D. Sol Invictus festival likely responded to—rather than originated—the Christian date, and traces how the feast spread (Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem) and how some traditions (e.g., Armenian) keep January 6. Key takeaways: December 25 is best understood as a Western Christian development based on theological and calendrical reasoning, not a straightforward borrowing from pagan sun-worship, and this research helps clarify modern debates about the holiday’s origins.