THE FIRST CHRISTMAS DAY.
Although students of Biblical chronology have gone far toward determining "the actual date of Good Friday— probably April 6 in the year 31 of our ora —it ' is unlikely that the real date of the originrT Christmas Day will ever be determined. We may be reasonably certain, howover, that it was not December 25, since that date occurs at the height of the rainy Judean season, when shepherds would certainly not be watching their flocks by right. In the early days of Christianity the feast was kept up at various dates .in January, April, and May; and it was not until the fifth century that December 25 was agreed upon, proba.bly from a desiro to supplant the Saturnalia, from which pagan festival, however, several of our Christmas customs originated.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19221220.2.160.25.20
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18278, 20 December 1922, Page 8 (Supplement)
Word Count
133THE FIRST CHRISTMAS DAY. New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18278, 20 December 1922, Page 8 (Supplement)
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the New Zealand Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries and NZME.
Log in