As we approach Christmas Day, despite the commercial frenzy, the anticipation of something significant grows.

As early as 221CE and definitely by 354CE the birth of Jesus was connected to December 25. The earliest written mention of December 25 as Jesus’ birthday comes from a mid 4th century Roman almanac (The Philocalian Calendar) that lists December 25 as: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae: (Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea). In fact, no one knows the true birth date of Jesus but even historians believe it to be somewhere in September through Biblical description. It is written that, at the time of his birth, shepherds were tending their flock, implying warmer weather. December 25 is in the heart of the cold Judean winter when shepherds are inside and so is the flock.
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The solstice point in June marks the height of summer in the northern hemisphere and the depths of winter in the south. At the tropic of Cancer, the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky and the hours of daylight dominate. Conversely, in the southern hemisphere, the Sun is low in the sky, the days are short and the nights are long. At the June solstice, the Sun reaches the tropic of Cancer and ‘rests’ at the same point in the sky for three days. It then does an about-face and heads in the opposite direction from whence it came. The yearly cycles of night and day, dark and light, is what creates the changing seasons and fertility on Earth.
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