"hence it follows that that the Blessed Virgin Mary having, as the Evangelist St Luke relates, received the Angel Gabriel's visit, and conceived the Saviour of the world in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, that is to say March, the Birth of Jesus must have taken place in the month of December."
For all the protestations above about "adopting pagan festivals", St. John Chrysostom's account is far more realistic in that it was the date of the Annunciation (March 25th) which was the determining factor for the date of the Nativity.
There is complicated OT typology which the fathers used to determine the date of the Annunciation, as well as St. Luke's Gospel, but the ancient Christian belief was that Adam was created on March 25th, Christ became incarnate on March 25th and Christ was crucified on March 25th.
All this nonsense about "Christianising" pagan festivals is hogwash spewed forth by the ignorant who have no Tradition and who don't understand how the early Christians read the Bible.
John Chrysostom was a rabid anti-semite
and by extension John is someone who hates
the Christ as Y'shua is a Jewish Rabbi
who hates tradition and teaches the Word of G-d.
b'shem Y'shua
What exactly do yule logs, mistletoe, evergreen trees, Santa Claus, gift exchanges, decorations, colored lights and general merrymaking have to do with scripture?
As for the Pagans, they were all right in my book. They were much more sensible than many of today's protestants, having discovered fortitude, temperance, prudence, justice; the rest of the knowledge of the Virtues would be completed with the Grace of Faith, Hope, and Charity built upon their naturally perfected knowledge.
On the other hand, literally, how many proddies are wearing wedding rings which practice was introduced by the pagans as a way of making us Satanists I guess.
I had heard the March 25 explanation but it's Chrysostom's story and I'm sticking with it :)