People are just learning that Christmas wasn’t always Dec. 25

Every year on Dec. 25, people around the world gather with friends and family to celebrate Christmas, the holy day marking the birth of Jesus Christ.

But was Christ actually born on this day?

In short: No.

The birth of Jesus Christ wasn’t celebrated in the early years of Christianity until the fourth century, when church officials decided it should be a holiday. But there’s no mention of when Christ was born in the Bible.

The most significant holiday for the first three centuries of Christianity was Epiphany, which commemorates the arrival of the Magi — the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men — visiting Christ as a baby.

Epiphany — also known as “Old Christmas” and recognized as the 12th day of Christmas — is still celebrated, and will fall on Jan. 6, 2024. On Jan. 7, meanwhile, Orthodox Christians — such as those in Greece, Egypt and Russia — celebrate Christmas in line with its date on the Julian calendar.

The date of Dec. 25 taking form as a date to celebrate Christ’s birth didn’t appear until early in the Roman calendar, in AD 336.

According to the History Channel, Pope Julius I chose Dec. 25 likely out of convenience to celebrate on the same day as the pagan Saturnalia festival, which marks the winter solstice.

Having Christmas at the same time as the festival, the chances that Christmas would be “popularly embraced” increased, though church leaders were unable to decide how it was to be celebrated.

The Biblical Archaeology Society throws another theory out there: The actual date could be in the spring and derived more from Judaism than paganism — and the rabbinic notion that great things could be expected to return at the same time of year.

But these are just theories — there’s no concrete evidence to prove an exact date.