Astronomers have calculated that Christmas should be in June, by charting the appearance of the 'Christmas star.' They found that a bright star which appeared over Bethlehem 2,000 years ago pinpointed the date of Christ's birth as June 17 rather than December 25.
The researchers claim the 'Christmas star' was most likely a magnificent conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter, which were so close together they would have shone unusually brightly as a single "beacon of light" which appeared suddenly. If the team is correct, it would mean Jesus was a Gemini, not a Capricorn as previously believed.
7 comment(s):
I've always wondered how the holiday would have developed had a different date been chosen.
I have wondered the same thing. Would Santa Clause live in the north pole? What would happen to all those great dreaming songs. I shudder to thinak of the possibility of "I'm dreaming of a humid Christmas" ruling the radio.
The developers of this theory made two very large assumptions that they shouldn't have made:
1. That the star has to be non-miraculous, i.e., that it couldn't be created by God especially for the occasion. Of course, if this is impossible, then who would care about when Jesus was born or if He existed at all? If He's not God, then He's a lunatic at best.
2. That the appearance of the star corresponds to the birth of Jesus. According to the Bible, this is not so. The magi visited a child in a house, not an infant in a stable. We have no idea how old Jesus was at this point. Additionally, Herod had all children two and under killed, another hint that the magi were not looking for a newborn infant.
Unless Jesus could talk at age one and told them all he was three years old. Which he probably could have.
Here is some more information from New Testament scholar Darrell Bock: The Date of Christmas: In the Summer? Basically he says, we just don't know.
it's a great idea - the whole jesus thing. But i'm more apt to believe Him to be a solar god. More along the lines of http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/scholars.html
@JW,
Hey dude, you do know that it isn't the middle of winter everywhere in the world right?
People that live in Australia don't need to dream of a humid Christmas, they're living it.
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