Hippolytus and December 25th, the birthday of Christ-Christmas
****go here for a much more in-depth discussion that supersedes the discussion below**** *Scroll down for more updates* Roger Pearse is discussing the dates of the Winter Solstice and “Brumalia” to see...
View ArticleHippolytus and the Original Date of Christmas
***Update-see my new post on Clement of Alexandria and Christmas December 25th**** Around this time last year I put up a blog post pointing out that Hippolytus of Rome names December 25 as the birthday...
View ArticleClement of Alexandria and the Original date of Christmas as December 25th
Previously I posted a summary of my article which I added as an appendix to my translation of Hippolytus of Rome’s Commentary on Daniel. In it I argue that Hippolytus did in fact believe that Jesus...
View ArticleThe Origins of Saturnalia and Christmas
I was inspired to look at an English translation of Macrobius’s Saturnalia after reading Roger Pearse’s post that mentioned that Macrobius claimed that an infant was presented on the winter solstice as...
View ArticleThe dates of Saturnalia (and Sigillaria!) and Christmas
Yesterday we looked at Macrobius’s account of the origin of the Festival of Saturnalia to see if it’s origins influenced Christmas, as some claim. Macrobius gave several different stories and none of...
View ArticleChristmas, the Winter Solstice, and the birth of the Sun
Two days ago we talked about the origins of Saturnalia and yesterday we talked about the date on which it was celebrated, in both cases there seems to be no relation between Saturnalia and Christmas....
View ArticleSol Invictus evidently not a precursor to Christmas
I have found the full Latin of the inscription which Roll (“Toward the Origins of Christmas”) implies states that Emperor Aurelian set up a feast for Sol Invictus on December 25 in 274AD. The Latin...
View ArticleAntiochus of Athens and the Birth of the Sun-update
Roger Pearse responded to my post on Sol Invictus, and made some very good points. Aurelian did institite games of the sun (agones solis) in October. The calendar of Philocalus does not give any...
View ArticleCyprian, Christmas, and the birth of the Sun
Occasionally I find that people attempt to quote Cyprian as supporting the idea that Jesus was born on the same day that the Sun was born, typically linking this with December 25 and the Festival of...
View ArticleJulius Africanus and Christmas as December 25
A question has come in about Christmas and Julius Africanus. Africanus (wrote 221/222AD) is a fascinating figure, whose work the Chronographia has been lost except for fragments and testimonies from...
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