The Date of Christmas

Once you've been in church long enough you start to hear things. These things come from the doubters. These people seem nice enough; they come to church religously, but their heart is not into church. Now mind you, they are not melicious. Unbenounce to these people, however, they say things that undermine the budding faith of many people. I ran into one of these people once, many years ago, and this person said to me, "You know, the date of Christmas is wrong." He was right, but not totally.

Early Christians weren't hung up on when Jesus came to save us. What was most important was that Jesus came.

It took several hundred years for the date of Christmas to land on December 25th. Here is what the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church says: Clement of Alexandria (150 - 215 A.D.) suggested May 2oth. The first evidence showing December 25th as the date for Jesus' birth was the year 336. The date of the 25th gained more usage and prominence once Constantine became Emperor. So for almost 1700 years, Christmas has been celebrated on the 25th and the benefit of this date is simply this: During the darkest time of the year, for those in the Northern Hemisphere, the light of the world brings light and joy to our souls.