The date and the year of Christ’s birth are uncertain, but the birthdays of these modern-day Christmas babies are known for sure.It’s confusing: scientific research indicates that Jesus Christ was probably born between the years 7 and 4 B.C. — in other words, before 0 B.C. (“Before Christ”), the point in time when we attribute Jesus to having been born. This zero year also marks the start of the Gregorian calendar system.
In the ancient world, people didn’t celebrate birthdays. That includes those of the Jewish faith — and Jesus was a Jew. It can be safely assumed that the date of birth of the long-awaited savior wasn’t precisely documented. And that birth took place in the most austere surroundings on the edge of society. So it comes as no surprise that Jesus’ birthday wasn’t recorded and cannot be clearly identified.
Read more: The Advent calendar’s sweet history
But because early Christians celebrated the martyrdom of their patron saints, rather reliable information does exist on the day Christ died and the Resurrection, when he rose from the dead: it was mentioned that in the year 30 A.D., meaning he was over 30 years old.
Nontheless, a person born on December 24 is often referred to as a Christmas baby in English and known as a “Christ kid” (“Christkind”) in Germany. Most people know their birthdays of course, and although some may like to make themselves seem younger than they are or keep their birthdays secret, we’ve put together a list of a few people far more certain to have been born on that day than Jesus Christ.
Read more: 24 figures who’ve left their mark on Christmas
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