Five common myths about the Christmas story, from where and when Jesus was born to who wrote Away in a Manger
Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, but scholars have cast doubt on several parts of the Nativity story, from the number of wise men to the presence of animals at the birth – and authorship of a favourite carol
Jesus is the reason for the season, they say. But despite what Nativity plays and film epics would have us believe, the story of the birth of Jesus is more complicated than many people think.
Between the difficulty in reconciling different versions of the tale and the 2,000 years of popular interpretation and culture layered on top of them, much of what people commonly know about the story of Jesus’ birth, from the date to where it took place, is wildly different from what the Gospels have to say. Here are five common myths about the Nativity.
1. Jesus was born on December 25
The overwhelming majority of Christians mark the birth of Jesus on December 25. But there’s no biblical reason to celebrate Christmas on this particular day.
According to the Gospel of Luke, shepherds were watching their flocks at night at the time Jesus was born. This detail – the only clue in the Gospels about the timing of the birth – suggests that Jesus’ birthday was not in the winter, as shepherds would have been watching their flocks only during the lambing season in the spring. In the colder months, the sheep probably would have been corralled.
As late as the 3rd century, Christians didn’t celebrate the birth of Jesus. The earliest discussion of the birthday is found in the 3rd-century writings of Clement of Alexandria, who raises seven potential dates – none of which correspond to December 25.