By the way, I had a housemate who had been big into astrology. She one day asked me, "Is there any chance they put Christmas on the wrong day?" I asked her why and she told me: "Because from what I figure about Jesus' personality [she had just watched The Passion of The Christ] and who he was and all that, I worked out when the planets seem to predict something big like that. But I get March 25th, 4BC. "
I long ago renounced astrology, and she has since, also. (I think the movie had a BIG impact on her.) But hey, the wise men were astrologers...
I've heard that Jesus was probably born in 4 B.C. Springtime was a probable time as the shepards were "out in their fields" and some other indicators as well.
A few weeks ago a visiting preacher said that Constantine (in the 300's AD?) declared that the Roman Solstice parties should celebrate Jesus' birth instead of the Roman Gods. Christianity was the official religion of the Romans by that time. His sermon was on how Christians can and should influence the world around him (Constantine, Martin Luther, Mother Theresa) - including government.
Its interesting to hear all the different ideas on the date of Christmas. I may not know the true date of Christmas, but I DO know the true meaning of Christmas!
The Wise Men appeared when Jesus was about 3.