Christians believe that Jesus (pbuh) is the same Messiah who was promised by the Torah to deliver people from sin. The first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew describes the birth of Christ and His naming, and the beginning of the second chapter says that Christ was born in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great (37–4 BCE). Three wise Magi astrologers from the Orient, led by a comet, came to worship the baby and asked the king where the king of the Jewish people is, because they had seen his star.
For the followers of Christ, Christmas means a new life, because Christ began life in a manger instead of a cradle. The seventh verse of the second chapter of Luke says:
“She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Humphreys says in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society that the BC comet is most likely the "star of Bethlehem", and therefore the baby should have been born in April of the fifth year BC. The accounts of the birth of Christ are slightly different in the two Gospels of Matthew and Luke. According to the Gospel of Matthew the three wise men who carried the gifts found Christ in Bethlehem. However, the Gospel of Luke says that the shepherds of that region reported this news with the help of angels. Christians believe that the stables symbolize the humility of Christ. The existence of bulls and donkeys in pictures of the birth of Christ indicates that before Christ came, the world was full of ignorant creatures. Christmas pictures show the baby with open arms and there is a halo of light around the baby's head and angels.
In the second century AD, January 6 was considered the day of Christ's birth, but in the fourth century, the Roman Catholic Church announced December 25 as the Christ’s birthday and January 6 as the date of His baptism. The reason for choosing December 25 as the birth of the Christian prophet is that at that time, the worship of Mehr was very popular in Europe, and December 25 was the birthday of Mithra. Thus, to forget it, this day was announced as the birth of Jesus Christ. On January 6, Armenians first hold a religious service in the churches and then perform a special baptismal service.
I wish you friendship, peace, tranquility, endless love and hope. Merry Christmas.
Authored in Persian by Jalal Sokhanvar, PhD