Originally Posted by juanruiz

Christians celebrate the Nativity on Dec 25 because that was originally the Winter Solstice. In other words, they "borrrowed" a pagan holiday. As for what year, the only two gospels to mention it don't agree. Herod did die in 4 BCE, so Matthew's version would put the birth somewhere in that time frame. Luke has Jesus born during the Great Census of Augustus, which took place in 6 CE. Since both stories were invented nearly a century after the event, it's likely they're both wrong.