Today is Christmas. December 25 has been Christmas for the past 1,688 years since Roman Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the religion of the empire, selected the date. The holiday commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, who is regarded by most Christians as the incarnation of God.
In the Holy Scriptures, authors Luke and Matthew record the birth of Jesus, but there is no mention of a date. Some historians believe Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus, as he compiled his Christian chronology, dated Jesus’ conception to March 25, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Therefore, using nine-months gestation, the result would be a Dec.
25 birth. More recently, the Daily Mail newspaper in London reported that “based on ancient astronomical records, experts theorize that Jesus was likely born in the spring.” However, Lawrence Mykytiuk, an emeritus professor from Purdue University said: “It remains a (humbling) fact that despite various claims, no one in modern times is really certain of the exact year of Jesus’s birth.
” However, records show that Dec. 25 did not become a major Christian festival until the ninth century. Today, the birth of Jesus and its celebration on Christmas Day is commemorated by millions of Christians across the world.
Among the most significant events is the midnight Mass from the Vatican by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. On Christmas Day, the Pope gives his traditional “Urbi et orbi” — to the city and to th.
