The Truth About The Timing of "Christ-Mass"

I am going to share some quotes from the book "The Two Babylons" by the late Rev. Alexander Hislop. This book was first published in 1916.

We are going to read from chapter 3 page 91 on the topic of Festivals, we are quoting from the sections in regards to the time of Christ's birth:

"There is not a word in scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December. At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in the open fields. Now, no doubt, the climate of Palestine (Israel-note this book was of course written before Israel became a nation) is not so severe as the climate in this country; but even there, though the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October. It is in the last degree incredible, then, that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of December."........

"At the birth of Christ every woman and child was to go the be taxed at the city whereto they belonged, wither some had long journeys; but the middle of winter was not fitting for such a business, especially for women with child, and children to travel in. Therefore, Christ could not be born in the depth of winter .............. And if any shall think the winter wind was not so extreme in these parts, let him remember the words of Christ in the gospel, "Pray that your flight be not in the winter."

"....within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How then did the Romish church (Roman Catholic church) fix on December the 25th as Christmas day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honor of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ.

This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed....."
"Upright men strove to stem the tide but in spite of all their efforts, the apostasy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan Festival, is beyond all doubt."....end quotes