Do you reckon Jesus got a birthday party with presents while he was alive?

According to Matthew 14:6, King Herod’s birthday party was the occasion for the beheading of John the Baptist (Salome was granted this favor in reward for dancing at the party). So there was some celebration of birthdays among Jesus’ contemporaries.

“how would Jesus throw his birthday party this 25th of December?”

By waiting for the summer.

His mother would probably turn everyone away insisting. “He’s not the Messiah just a very naughty boy. Now fuck off!!”

What a drag it must have been: Christmas and his birthday on the same date. And he probably only got new clothes, and even then it was just “a new robe” and “what size sandals is He wearing now?”

Wel not to hijack a thread but my name is Jesus… and I had birthday parties with gifts for many years… not so big on celebrating lately though.

As far as Jesus celebrating his B-day onthe 25th that’s a bit of a misconception.

Most biblical scholars and preachers readily admit that they know Christ was not born on December 25th. However, they claim that this day is as good as any other to celebrate the birth of Jesus, despite the fact that it was originally a pagan celebration called Saturnalia which commemorated the birth of the sun god.

There have been festivals of every sort around the winter solstice going back to the Babylonians. But it was the Roman Emperor Aurelian who fixed the actual date. He called December 25th “The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun”, and put it right in the middle of the feast of Saturnalia. (The Romans really knew how to have a feast: Saturnalia lasted a week.)

This was a always a time a great merry making there were big dinners, halls bedecked with laurels and green trees, people carrying lighted candles through the streets, and the giving of gifts was a common practice. In fact, you might say that the Christmas spirit is really the spirit of Saturnalia passed on over time.

~ Enter the Christians ~

The Christians, in the meantime, were having the “Mass of Christ” at various times and places. This wasn’t a commemoration of the birth of Jesus so much as it was a time to reflect on His life and acts. So, when Constantine made Christianity the religion of Rome, the Catholics needed a way to convert the pagans running around the streets of Rome with their candles and presents to Christian practices.

One imagines it went a little something like this: “You have an unconquered sun, we have an unconquered Son. You give gifts—we have wise men bringing gifts. You have bonfires and lamps and candles—we have a new star. It’s not really all that hard put the two together.” Or something like that.

So the date of Christmas became the 25th, the pagans became Christians, and everybody got a day to celebrate selflessness, joy, and light.

As was custom back then the Church readily appropriated pre-existing holy days into the ecumenical calendar in order to ease faith transition and to basically “black out” competing holidays.

The accepted “date” for his birth was actually considered to have occurred months after that of John the baptist. Since John was born on Passover, the 15th day of Nisan (the 1st Jewish month), Jesus would have been born six months later on the 15th day of Tishri (the 7th Jewish month). The 15th day of the 7th month begins the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:34–35), also known as Sukkot. Jesus was born on the 1st day of the Feast of Tabernacles! In the year 5 BCE, this fell in the month of September.

This explains why there was no room at the inn for Joseph and Mary. A multitude of Jewish pilgrims from all over the Middle East had come to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, as God required (Deu. 16:16). Bethlehem, which was only a few miles outside of Jerusalem, was also overflowing with visitors at this time because of the Feast.

Does this help at all?

Lets be honest, no one knows exactly when Jesus was born. besides, what does it matter? I celebrate each day as Jesus’s birthday in my prayers. this makes me happy. john

@Dr_C Excellent answer. Lurve lurve lurve!

@Dr_C Well done!

@Dr_C I thought everyone was heading to Jerusalem for the census?

@Val123 common misconception, people were heading to their city or village of birth for the census. (see history of Joseph).

Doc pretty much dropped a bomb on this thread. All is well.

he would email out e-vites to all on his favorite list and accept Old Navy gift cards..

At the time most people only had a rough understanding of the passage of time, let alone a calendar. How do you celebrate the birthday of Jesus as a child if the parents just know he’s about 10 summers old?