LOS ANGELES - January 13, 2025 - Many people embrace Christmas as the most joyous holiday of the year, whether they consider it a celebration of the birth of Jesus or just a day when everybody exchanges gifts. Most believe the holiday is on December 25 because that was the day Jesus was born, but in truth, no one really knows when he was born.
Some scholars believe that the actual date was in early spring, placing it closer to the Easter holiday.
The Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus (born 180 AD, died 250 AD) dated Jesus’ conception on March 25 (the same date upon which he held that the world was created), which, after nine months in his mother’s womb, would result in a December 25 birth.
In 2024, no one is likely thinking about how and when Christmas became the rejoiced holiday that it is … but what if God has communicated with a person about Christmas?
The late Dr. Pieter Noomen, a psychotherapist who worked in suicide prevention and hospice and also served as a senior minister for various Protestant churches, said he experienced many conversations with “I AM,” the name that he says the entity known as “God” uses for Himself/Herself (Dr. Noomen indicated that the deity is not gender-specific).
Before Dr. Noomen died in 2019, he wrote thousands of entries in which he transcribed conversations with I AM, and they remain available free to anyone at any time who wants to read them on his website, www.wordsforall.org.
Here is what Dr. Noomen wrote about Christmas, which he said is directly quoted from I AM:
"As you write this, you are in the midst of Christmas celebrations. Many, also outside of your culture, are touched by its sphere. 'Peace on earth,' indeed, means global harmony in activities and interests for all pulling and pushing forces. Each human being, with or without religion, has moments of longing for this … naturally, because it is a component of their own constitution. Allowing this longing to grow and act upon it solidifies your connection with eternity. It will not bring heaven on earth, but it uncovers what existence is all about.”
We still don’t have a definitive answer for when Jesus was born, but we have some facts about how December 25 evolved into Christmas Day.
In the third century, the Roman Empire, which at the time had not adopted Christianity, celebrated the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus) on December 25. This holiday marked the return of longer days after the winter solstice and followed the popular Roman festival called the Saturnalia, during which people feasted and exchanged gifts. The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in the year 336, during the reign of the emperor Constantine.
A timely example from Dr. Noomen’s Wisdoms of the Week from his website, www.wordsforall.org:
"In order to be a decent and creative person, the best possible, we don't need religious ceremonies or symbols – Christmas, Ramadan, worship services, prayer routines, etc. Yet, religion 'can be fun' if it stimulates caring attitudes, healing actions and a positive togetherness."
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