Why is it acceptable to celebrate George Washington's birthday...?

And here I was thinking both of them were acceptable.

Who knew?

Who says that Jesus was not born on December 25th?

The Bible gives no date for the birth of Jesus, not even a month or season. Any speculation on when it happened is just that - speculation. About the closet thing we have to a date for the birth of Jesus is a commonly held belief by the Christians that the conception of Jesus and the death of Jesus happened on the same date, only 33 years apart. We know that the death of Jesus happened on what we would consider March 25. If the concept of Jesus also happened on March 25, that would place his birth about December 25th.

Clements of Alexandria, writing around 200 AD, states there was a debate between whether the birth of Jesus was on January 6th or December 25, depending on which year the crucifixion happened. Again an indication that the early Christian believes that the conception and the crucifixion happened on the same date. (Note that the Eastern Orthodox church still celebrates Christmas on January 6th.)

It is often though that the December date for Christmas was because of the pagan celebration of Sol Invictus which fell on December 25th. However the first evidence of such as celebration was not until 274 AD under the Roman emperor Aurelian. Nearly a century after Clements tells us that Christians were already celebrating that date. Others try to link it to the winter solstice, but that never falls on December 25th. Because the calendar had not been adjusted yet, it would have come around the 19th to the 21th, not the 25th. Again, not the date of Christmas.

There is also a common belief that Constantine set the date of the celebration of Christmas. However Constantine was an Orthodox Christian and would have celebrated on January 6th. Also we know that several hundred Dionist Christians were executed by the emperor Diocletian in 312 AD because of their insistence on celebrating Christmas on December 25th instead of the sun worship. So again, the date was already in usage prior to the time of Constantine.

The earliest know almanac that lists the birth and death dates of various Christian bishops and martyrs, gives the "natus Christus in Betleem Judeae" as December 25th in the early 4th century. Again before the conversion of Constantine.

So there are valid historical reasons for Christians to believe that the birth of Jesus may have been on December 25th.

Probably the same reason people celebrate Jesus' birth on a day that he wasn't born with strange customs that a 'man' made up!

poor George. He has been shafted with Abe, all for the convenience of the government.

Jesus would have been born in July and no one seems to have bothered to write it down.

so Im missing your point.

Because there are confirmed facts on Washington's existence (not that Jesus never existed, just we aren't sure). Also, I think people are afraid that if we celebrate Jesus's birthday, the Christians will start to rise in power again and start killing everybody all over again.

I don't know. It's probably only because the majority of people accept it.

Like how young people are taught to believe (my school did this) that Christopher Columbus discovered America. When he actually didn't.

Hello Saddle Shoes,

I guess we should have figured it by now that people today are not taught the old proverb on double standards today which says what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander!

Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Remind me to get you your Washington's Birthday present, and for me to get my Washington's Birthday tree.

because george shares a holiday, jesus doesn't

to find out where the cherry tree lies.