The Origins of Christmas Legends and Traditions We Didn’t Know

The exact date of Jesus’s birth has long been a subject of debate among scholars. The modern calendar, as of 2020, marks his birth as 2020 years prior, but historical records in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew suggest he was born around the death of King Herod the Great, believed by most scholars to be in 4 BCE. This could potentially place Jesus’s birth as early as 6 BCE.

Additionally, the Gospel of Luke implies Jesus was about 30 at the time of his death, traditionally believed to be in 33 CE, further supporting this timeframe. Thus, Jesus’s birth likely falls within a seven to eight-year window around these dates, rather than the conventionally cited 1 BCE or a non-existent “year zero.”