Jesus’s exact birthday is unknown, but most historians think he was born between 6 and 4 BCE, and Christians later chose December 25 as the traditional day to celebrate his birth.

What day was Jesus born?

  • The Bible never gives a specific date or day of the month for Jesus’s birth.
  • Because of this, historians work backwards from clues about King Herod’s reign and Roman history and usually land in the range of 6–4 BCE, not on a precise calendar day.

Why December 25 then?

  • The earliest firm evidence that Jesus’s birth was celebrated on December 25 comes from a Roman document dated to the year 336 CE.
  • Over time, churches adopted December 25 as a fixed feast day, so “Christmas Day” became the traditional answer, even though it is a later liturgical choice, not a historically verified birth date.

What year was he likely born?

  • Many biblical scholars place Jesus’s birth a few years “before Christ” in our modern system, roughly 6–4 BCE, based on Herod the Great’s death and census references in the Gospels.
  • A minority of scholars argue for slightly different years, but there is no consensus on a single exact date, only on this approximate window.

Key takeaway

  • Historically: no exact day known; approximate range 6–4 BCE.
  • Traditional Christian calendar: December 25, chosen several centuries after Jesus’s lifetime as the day to celebrate his birth.

TL;DR: No one knows the precise day Jesus was born; historians suggest roughly 6–4 BCE, while churches later chose December 25 as the standard celebration date.