Was Jesus born in the midst of snow?
The two Gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, who record the birth of Jesus, say nothing about the day of Christ’s birth. Accordingly, the early church did not celebrate a day called Christmas until about the end of the 3rd century. It was the Christians in Egypt who began to commemorate January 6 as the day of Christ’s birth, which was gradually accepted in the eastern Church. However, by the beginning of the fourth century, the Western Church, which had never recognized the 6th of January as the day of Christ’s birth, had adopted the 25th of December as the day of celebration. Even today The central purpose of Christmas remains the same whether you celebrate on December 25th or January 6th: to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all mankind.
The gospel of Luke 2:8–9 records that there were shepherds
and sheep in the field when Christ was born. Some claim that this is not
possible because the temperatures would have been too low, especially if it was
snowing. Normally, there are only two seasons in Palestine: wet and dry.
The Weather Channel reports the average temperature in Jerusalem (Bethlehem is
about six miles from Jerusalem) in the month of December varies between a
maximum of 14°C (57.2°F) and a minimum of 8.4°C (47.12°F). However, in 2013,
there was a historic snowfall in Jerusalem, which happened on December 13,
2013, when up to 28 inches (700 millimeters) of snow fell on the city. After
that, another rare snowfall in the city of Jerusalem took place on January 27,
2022. According to Israel's meteorological service, between 15 and 25 cm (6 –
10 inches) of snow fell overnight. This means that snow is rare in Bethlehem.
How did snow become so attached to the Christmas story? Even
in our country, Sri Lanka, which has never experienced a snowfall, we have
carols in the native languages referring to snow! The western and northern
hemispheres experience snowfall during the winter season, which begins in
December. For centuries, they have had various religious based festivals during
the snowy winter. During the Middle Ages, people who had followed other
religions began to embrace Christianity. Their ancient customs and traditions,
which were part of their life and culture related to snow, were superimposed on
the Christmas celebrations. Therefore, their Christmas celebrations were
naturally associated with cold weather and snow. Stories, carols, songs, and
images were produced by them, which are very popular and have become part of
Christmas celebrations around the world. Reindeer are one such example.
Reindeer have long been associated with Christmas and winter celebrations,
particularly in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. In the folklore traditions of
these people, the reindeer are seen as a great animal that pulled their sleigh
and brought people safely home over a harsh winter landscape. This later
inspired popular Christmas stories such as Santa Claus pulling his sleigh with
reindeer and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, among others.
It should be appreciated that such traditions have now
crossed over to other countries across the world and have become part of our
Christmas celebration. While preserving the original story of the birth of
Christ as recorded in the Bible, people of different cultures should be encouraged
to find meaningful expressions for their Christian faith using the culture and
traditions they belong to. At Christmas, we proclaim that Christ was born as
the Savior of all mankind. Therefore, the celebration of Christmas should never
be confined to snow and winter. It could be celebrated, referring to dry and
warm weather too.
Rev. Asiri P. Perera
December 28, 2022
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