Why is celebrating the birth of Christ such a big deal?

I have a personal dislike for folks wishing Jesus a Happy Birthday on various social sites. It just rubs me the wrong way and while they have every right to do it, I also have the right to be a bit of a dick about it. What does this have to do with my question? Hang on, I’ll tell you.

I was doing a little research, via Google, in to the actual birth date of Jesus so that I could post a snarky response to a particular Happy Birthday Jesus! post. All I was able to find was the fact that it is almost impossible to nail down a verifiable date.

What I did find was a few Christian sites that actually brought up a great point. The birth of Jesus isn’t really a big deal at all. It’s his death and (alleged) resurrection that stirred up all the trouble and are the core of Christianity.

Women have been birthing babies since the beginning of time. We don’t get all exited and buy gifts for each other on March 14th (Albert Einstein’s birthday), August 6th (Alexander Fleming’s invented penicillin birthday), or March 2nd (Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel’s birthday). They all had their own, personal Jesus type effect on the world.

So, again, why all the major holiday fuss over a baby being born?