Editing Christmas (section)

=== Theories ===
{{main|Date of the birth of Jesus#Day of birth}}

There are several theories as to why December 25 was chosen as the date for Christmas. However, theology professor Susan Roll notes that "no liturgical historian [...] goes so far as to deny that it has any sort of relation with the sun, the [[winter solstice]] and the popularity of solar worship in the later Roman Empire".<ref name="Roll107">Roll, Susan K. ''Toward the Origins of Christmas''. Peeters Publishers, 1995, p. 107.</ref> The early Church linked Jesus Christ to the Sun and referred to him as the 'Sun of Righteousness' ({{lang|la|Sol Justitiae}}) prophesied by [[Malachi]].<ref name=hijmans>Hijmans, S.E., ''Sol: The Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome,'' 2009, p. 584.</ref><ref name="Malachi">{{bibleverse|Malachi|4:2|ESV}}</ref> In the early fifth century, [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Maximus of Turin]] preached that it was fitting to celebrate Christ's birth at the winter solstice, because it marked the point when the hours of daylight begin to grow.<ref>Roll, p.160</ref><ref>St Augustune, Sermon 192, in ''St Augustine: Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons'', translated by Sr Mary Sarah Muldowney. [[Catholic University of America Press]], 1984, p.34</ref>

The 'history of religions' or 'substitution' theory suggests that the Church chose December 25 as Christ's birthday ({{lang|la|dies Natalis Christi}})<ref>Kelly, Joseph F., ''The Origins of Christmas'', Liturgical Press, p.80</ref> to appropriate the Roman winter solstice festival {{lang|la|dies Natalis Solis Invicti}} (birthday of {{lang|la|[[Sol Invictus]]}}, the 'Invincible Sun'), held on this date since 274 AD; before the earliest evidence of Christmas on that date.<ref name="Forsythe"/><ref name="Bradshaw"/> Gary Forsythe, Professor of Ancient History, says that the {{lang|la|Natalis Solis Invicti}} followed "the seven-day period of the {{lang|la|[[Saturnalia]]}} (December 17–23), Rome's most joyous holiday season since [[Roman Republic|Republican times]], characterized by parties, banquets, and exchanges of gifts".<ref name="Forsythe"/> Roll says that "the specific nature of the relation" between Christmas and the ''Natalis Solis Invicti'' has not yet been "conclusively proven from extant texts".<ref name="Roll107"/>

The 'calculation theory'<ref name="Bradshaw"/> suggests that December 25 was calculated as nine months after a date chosen for [[Annunciation|Jesus's conception]]: 25 March, the Roman date of the [[March equinox|spring equinox]], which later became the [[Feast of the Annunciation]].<ref name="Bradshaw"/><ref name="Melton2011">{{cite book |last1=Melton |first1=J. Gordon |title=Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations |date=2011 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1-59884-206-7 |page=39 |language=en}}</ref>