Why is Christmas on December 25th? episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 13, 2026 · 11 MIN

Why is Christmas on December 25th?

from ReligionForBreakfast · host ReligionForBreakfast

Everyone assumes that early Church authorities chose December 25th for Christmas to coincide with the already popular Roman holiday of Saturnalia. This may have some basis in reality, but there is another theory: That Christians believed Jesus was conceived and died on the same day (sometime in March or April). When you calculate 9 months forward from that purported day of conception, you get December 25th or January 6th. For more reading, see: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/how-december-25-became-christmas/Twitter: @andrewmarkhenryBlog: www.religionforbreakfast.comMusic: Kevin MacLeod incompetech.comGraphic Design: Chris Maghintay, http://www.chrismaghintay.com/Animation: EC Henry, www.echenry.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 13, 2026

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Why is Christmas on December 25th?

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