Scientists reveal the exact date of Jesus' birth - and say it WASN'T on December 25 AD 1
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For millions of Christians around the world, the celebration of Christmas has a deeper significance than presents, tinsel, and turkey. According to their beliefs, December 25 this year will be the 2,023rd birthday of Jesus Christ. However, the surprising reality is that Jesus almost certainly wasn't born in the winter of 1 AD.
![[As a man born into the peasant classes, no records exist of the actual date of Jesus' birth. In fact, early Christians didn't start mentioning the 25th of December until hundreds of years after he had died. Pictured: A 12th-century fresco showing the Nativity]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/11/92833299-14157741-As_a_man_born_into_the_peasant_classes_no_records_exist_of_the_a-a-6_1733483290777.jpg)
Experts say Jesus may be significantly older than most people would expect, dating his birth back to the first century BC. And, in bad news for anyone planning their festive celebrations, historians say there is no reason to believe that Jesus' birthday is really December 25.
![[The historical and archaeological evidence points to the existence of the historical Jesus. Unlike most depictions today, the real Jesus would have had short curly hair, a well-trimmed beard, dark skin, brown eyes, and worn a short tunic]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/11/92621863-14157741-Unlike_so_many_of_our_modern_interpretations_experts_think_Jesus-a-20_1733484793210.jpg)
Based on ancient astronomical records, experts theorise that Jesus was likely born in the Spring. And, while it might seem shocking that Christ was born 'before Christ', the confusion can be traced back to a 1,500-year-old clerical error. Professor Lawrence Mykytiuk, of Purdue University, told MailOnline: 'It remains a humbling fact that despite various claims, no one in modern times is really certain of the exact year of Jesus’s birth.'.
![[Many experts link the date of Jesus' birth to the massacre of the innocents, illustrated here in a painting by Sir Peter Rubens, in which King Herod the Great ordered the death of Jewish boys under two years old]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/11/92834301-14157741-Many_experts_link_the_date_of_Jesus_birth_to_the_massacre_of_the-a-4_1733483150239.jpg)
According to Christian beliefs, Jesus was born on December 25, AD 1. However, expert historians say that Jesus was probably born much earlier. According to the traditional view that Jesus was born on December 25 1 AD, he should be turning 2023 this Christmas.
![[Retired medical artist Richard Neave has recreated the face of a first-century Judean (pictured) using forensic techniques and Semite skulls found in archaeological excavations]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/06/11/92620775-14157741-Retired_medical_artist_Richard_Neave_has_recreated_the_face_of_a-a-22_1733485197096.jpg)
