Have you ever wondered, “What year was Jesus actually born?” It’s a question many people assume has a simple answer, often thinking it was the start of our calendar, “Year 1 AD.” But history, it turns out, is a bit more complicated and, frankly, more fascinating!
You see, our modern calendar system, Anno Domini or A.D., was created by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus way back in the 6th century. His goal was to calculate the date of Easter, and he decided to make Jesus’s birth the starting point. But, based on what we know now, he likely made a small miscalculation, placing Jesus’s birth a few years too late.
The biggest clue to Jesus’s actual birth year comes from historical records tied to King Herod the Great. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke both state that Jesus was born while Herod was still alive and ruling Judea. Historians generally agree that King Herod died around 4 BC.
Considering Herod’s death, most scholars believe Jesus was born somewhere between 6 and 4 BC. Other historical hints, like references to a Roman census or descriptions of the “Star of Bethlehem,” also lean towards this earlier timeframe. So, while December 25th is a tradition, the actual birth year of Jesus was likely a few years before our calendar officially began!