Changes

==History==

==History==

[[Image:Parmigianino Virgin with Child.jpg|right|thumb|The Holy Virgin with her Child]]

[[Image:Parmigianino Virgin with Child.jpg|right|thumb|The Holy Virgin with her Child]]

Nativity narratives feature prominently in both Matthew and Luke. Early Christians had a great deal of interest in establishing the date of the birth of Jesus. But no evidence could be found in the gospels. They proposed a wide variety of dates. In 221, Sextus Julius Africanus gave March 25 as the date of the first day of Creation and of the conception of Jesus in his universal history. This conclusion was based on solar symbolism, with March 25 the date of the equinox. It implies a birth in December. Such solar symbolism was justified by the identification of Jesus as the "sun of righteousness" mentioned by Malachi.<ref>Hijmans notes the "the pervasive use of the sun as metaphor for Christ in early Christian literature, in which he is often referred to as “Sol verus”, “Sol Justitiae”, etc." (Hijmans, p. 584). The Biblical reference is Malachi 4:2.</ref>

Nativity narratives feature prominently in both Matthew and Luke. Early Christians had a great deal of interest in establishing the date of the birth of Jesus. But no evidence could be found in the gospels. They proposed a wide variety of dates.<ref>"Clement of Alexandria, for instances mentions (and dismisses) proposals that Christ was born on April 19 or May 20 and himself calculated the date as November 17, 3 BC. Other suggested dates included March 28 and April 2, but not December 7. None of the dates were influential, or enjoyed any official recognition." (Hijmans, p. 584).</ref> In 221, Sextus Julius Africanus gave March 25 as the date of the first day of Creation and of the conception of Jesus in his universal history. This conclusion was based on solar symbolism, with March 25 the date of the equinox. It implies a birth in December.<ref>Africanus did not calculate the date of Christmas. "Wallraff, who directed the project that recently produced the first critical edition of all preserved fragments of the corpus of Julius Africanus (Wallraff 2007), has kindly informed me that he does not know of any such calculation by Africanus. (Hijmans, p. 585, footnote 8)</ref>  Such solar symbolism was justified by the identification of Jesus as the "sun of righteousness" mentioned by Malachi.<ref>Hijmans notes the "the pervasive use of the sun as metaphor for Christ in early Christian literature, in which he is often referred to as “Sol verus”, “Sol Justitiae”, etc." (Hijmans, p. 584). The Biblical reference is the prophet Malachi 4:2.</ref>

The Chronography of 354 records that a Christmas celebration took place in Rome in 336.<ref name="Chrono354">The manuscript reads, ''VIII kal. Ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae.'' "[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chronography_of_354_12_depositions_martyrs.htm The Chronography of 354 AD. Part 12: Commemorations of the Martyrs]," ''The Tertullian Project''. 2006.</ref> The creation of the feast may be a response to the Trinitarian controversy that was raging at the time. It was introduced to the Eastern Roman Empire after the death of Emperor Valens, who favored the [[Arian]] heresy, in 378. Christmas has a unique three-mass liturgy that gives a priest three opportunities to inveigh against heretics. Once Arianism died out, the status of Christmas declined.

The Chronography of 354 records that a Christmas celebration took place in Rome in 336.<ref name="Chrono354">The manuscript reads, ''VIII kal. Ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae.'' "[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chronography_of_354_12_depositions_martyrs.htm The Chronography of 354 AD. Part 12: Commemorations of the Martyrs]," ''The Tertullian Project''. 2006.</ref> The creation of the feast may be a response to the Trinitarian controversy that was raging at the time. It was introduced to the Eastern Roman Empire after the death of Emperor Valens, who favored the [[Arian]] heresy, in 378. Christmas has a unique three-mass liturgy that gives a priest three opportunities to inveigh against heretics. Once Arianism died out, the status of Christmas declined.