Evolution of Christmas

I find it very interesting how religious holidays translate from one faith to the other. Christmas and Hanukah are at the same part of the year and are both predated by other religious celebrations that occurred at the end of December. Some think that these relatively newer religions put their holiday at the same time as the older ones in order to convince people to celebrate their holiday instead of the older one. It’s odd how Christmas, which is the celebration of the birth of Jesus is likely to have been moved to a time of year that’s different from when he was actually born. This is thought to be the case because the bible mentions Joseph and Mary making their way to Bethlehem for a Census that was going on at the time. It is extremely unlikely that the empire would have the census at that time of year because winter is the most difficult time to travel such a distance. Some also believe that the shepherds that were said to be out in the fields with their flocks that night would not be doing so in the winter. Although it is strange to change the day of your lord’s birthday it makes sense to do so because it would make it easier to convert people and spread the Christian message.