Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

In my view, the birth and resurrection of Christ are certainly both events worthy of commemoration by Christians, due to their significance with respect to making the forgiveness of sin and the granting of eternal life possible for all of humanity. 

However, to my knowledge, the specific timing of those commemorations was originally based not on specific identifiable calendar dates, but on having them coincide with pagan observances that already existed, so as not to make Christians an identifiable target for persecution based on their faith. Easter (the name of which derives from a pre-Christian observance of the beginning of Spring) does not even always coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover, as was the case when the biblical events occurred.)

(From what I understand, Christ's birth would actually have occurred in the spring of the year, based on that being the season when shepherds would have been tending their flocks in the field by night, due to lambs being born. Also, the author of the book The Day Christ Died (Jim Bishop) calculated (based on phases of the moon) that the dates of the original Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday would have been 6-9 April in AD 30.)

March 20 2021 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report