As we know, December the 25th is the date when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, the son of God. But according to the Christian holy book, The Bible, when Jesus was born, lambs were also being born and the stars were the stars of springtime. So was Jesus really born on December 25th and if not, why is his birth celebrated on that particular day? Yvonne Archer researched this topic to try to find out the answers to those questions.

Before you listen to the programme look at the comprehension questions below. You can hear the answers in the programme. You can check your understanding by trying the quiz from the Extras section below.

1: What date was Jesus actually born on?
2: About 2000 years ago, what was the main religion in the Middle East and Europe?
3: Which of the main mid-winter festivals did Christmas replace?
4: What was important to both Christmas and the mid-winter festivals?

Listen to Weekender
	25th December

Words and expressions from the programme

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Paganism
a type of religion with practices that are different from those of the world's main religions

a festival
an organised series of events and performances, often at the same time of year

evidence
reliable information which shows that something is true

the million dollar question
a question that's very difficult to answer, originally inspired by the name of a quiz competition

Don't foget to check your comprehension with the quiz below.

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Extras
Try the Weekender quiz
Programme script (pdf - 76k)