It’s just always been that Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25, but does anyone actually know why?

“It’s celebrated on the Dec. 25 because it was believed to be when Jesus was born, right?” said junior Corrine Abbott.

However, that is one of the main misconceptions of Christmas: Jesus was not born on Dec. 25. The date is actually unknown, as there is no official date in the Bible that states when Jesus was born.

According to an article by Valerie Strauss for The Washington Post, Christian church officials deciding the date for Christmas likely chose Dec. 25 so that it would coincide with pagan festivals celebrating Roman gods.

Therefore, having Christmas on Dec. 25 would make it easier for the polytheists in Rome to accept Christianity as the main religion.

Also, there was no celebration of Christmas during the early years of Christianity. In fact, the first known celebration on Dec. 25 for Jesus’ birth took place in 336 A.D.

“The religion’s most significant holidays were Epiphany on Jan. 6, which commemorated the arrival of the Magi after Jesus’ birth, and Easter, which celebrated Jesus’ resurrection,” wrote Sarah Pruitt for History.com.

Overall, the early Christians decided to have Christmas in winter, alongside the other celebrations and festivals, to make it easier to spread their beliefs of Christianity.

Nowadays, though, for those who are not Christian, Dec. 25 is a date that does not necessarily have a religious connotation, but instead a day to be with family and spread joy.