Jesus’ followers, however, held no commemoration of Christ’s birthday at all​—not on December 25, not even in October. And this held true until about the middle of the fourth century. Origen, a third-century historian, wrote that “of all the holy people in the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a . . . birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day on which they were born.” (Genesis 40:20-23; Mark 6:21-28)

States Dr. John C. McCollister in his book The Christian Book of Why: “Christians of the first century did not celebrate the festival honoring the birth of Jesus​—for the same reason they honored no other birthday anniversary. It was the feeling at that time by all Christians that the celebration of all birthdays (even the Lord’s) was a custom of the pagans.”