Birth of Christ according to tradition. Although most Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, during the first two centuries of Christianity, there was no precise information regarding the day or year of his birth, and most interest was focused on his death. However, at the beginning of the 4th century, religious authorities designated December 25th, the birthday of Mithras, a popular pagan deity, as the official birth date of Jesus Christ. The celebration of Jesus’ birth also coincided with the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, which fell in late December. Since then, December 25th has always been celebrated by Christians with a Mass. Today, a third of the world’s population celebrates Christmas on December 25th.
