The Date of Christmas

Of course the date of Christ Mass or Christmas as we write it now was not December 25. In fact many sources conflict on the issue. March to April however seems the most likely in my view.

December 25 of course was not originally a Christian celebration but Roman and others celebrated the days after the winter solstice when the days started to lengthen once more. These days were dedicated to very similar gift giving and over abundance which seems to be so normal these days.

The possible origin of the change in Christs birth day to December 25 comes from Sextus Julius Africanus who apparently popularized the idea with a Christian reference book in 221 AD.

The Yule or Saturnalia celebrations of pre-Christian Rome or Angles and Jutes has become the date associated with the birth of the Christian saviour.

So anyways... tomorrow jolly old St Nick...