How old is the December 25th date for Christs’ birth? Where did it originate?

The first known historical writings identifying December 25th as birth of Christ is from a Christian named Hippolytus in 204 a.d.


Hyppolytus wrote:

“For the first advent of our Lord in the flesh, when he was born in Bethlehem, was December 25th, Wednesday, while Augustus was in his forty-second year, but from Adam, five thousand and five hundred years. He suffered in the thirty-third year, March 25th, Friday, the eighteenth year of Tiberius Caesar.”—Hippolytus, 204 A.D.

Notice Hippolytus doesn’t say in 204 a.d. this is a “newly invented date”. He seems to be saying this is what generations of Christians before him had already believed. Yes December 25th is an ancient date that goes back to the very origins of Christianity
 
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/why-december-25

It's never been described by someone knowledgeable as the date of Christ's birth.

Rather: it's always been the date of the celebration or memorial of Christ's birth.
("Always" in the sense, "Since the very first time that date was chosen to celebrate Christ's birth.)

A sizable number of people who believe in Jesus reject the Yuletide traditions. Why? They point to at least four reasons.

First, they do not believe that Jesus was born in either December or January. The Bible does not give a specific date.

A second reason: The only event Jesus specifically instructed his followers to commemorate was his death, not his birth, and this was to be done as a simple communion meal. Luke 22:19, 20 Note, too, that the Gospels of Mark and John are silent about Jesus’ birth.

A third reason: There is no historical evidence that the early Christians celebrated the birth of the Christ. But they did memorialize his death. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 It was not until more than 300 years after Jesus’ birth that Christendom officially began to observe Christmas on December 25.

fourth reason: The unsavory origin of the celebration itself. The roots of Christmas can be traced back to pagan Rome with its mixture of festivals for honoring the agricultural god Saturn and the sun god.

  Like many pre-Christian customs and beliefs, the old feast commemorating the yearly return of the sun was rededicated to the birth of Christ.
 can you see why true Christians do not celebrate Christmas?

Millions were brought into the church from Paganism. But the change was mostly in name, for the pagan priests became christian priests and the pagan holidays came to be called by christian names Christmas being one of these holidays.

A person can know numerous truths about the Nativity of Jesus by reciting the third joyful mystery of the rosary frequently and with sincerity.  The spiritual fruit of the third joyful mystery is the spirit of poverty.

Please see the Bible’s answer to the question:  “What Does the Bible Say About Christmas?”

Click link below:  https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=502013126&srcid=share

A persecuted Christian. Church hid their celebration of the birth of the Christ during the feast of Saturnalius at the end of the 10 month
.

Google Saturnalia, Brumalia. It was a pagan winter solstice festival. The ancient Romans tried assimilating all the pagan religions in the empire into one entity, the catholic assembly. So they put Christian spins on the various holy days. Catholic means all-inclusive, universally accepting. 



Christ was born late Sep/early Oct according to scripture. Not that it matters. Christ/Christians never did birthdays.

It's been forever since I looked the history of it up, but I remember the Roman empire celebrated the 25th as the winter solstice and Christmas celebrations had started on the same date sometime in the 4th century.

Hundreds of years after Jesus’ death, December 25 was chosen as the date of his birth. Why? Numerous historians believe that the time of year that became the Christmas season was actually a period when pagan festivities were celebrated.

For instance, Encyclopædia Britannica states: “One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (‘day of the birth of the unconquered sun’), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer.”

The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time.” Such festivals usually included licentious behavior by their participants, who engaged in unbridled and riotous merrymaking. Significantly, that behavior has been characteristic of many Christmas celebrations today.

When was Jesus born? Read here: https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=102008441&srcid=share

December 25th is taken from the birthday of Invictus Sol Mithras