A poem providing much needed historical background about the process used to decide the date on which to celebrate Christmas. It's not a poem that will cut much ice with anyone embroiled in the debate over BCE and CE.

Sub-category

Poems about Christmas Traditions

Author

Paul Curtis

DOB?

In Rome a monk living about 530 AD
A mathematician and an astronomer
Was given the task of calculating
And reforming the Christian calendar
In essence to pin point with all precision
The date of Jesus Christ’s birth exactly
A miscalculation was discovered later
He was four years out unfortunately
Christ was born on January the sixth
According to the scholarly Egyptians
The date of Christ’s death was thought
More important to the early Christians
Rome selected Christ’s birth date to be
On the twenty fifth day of December
To coincide with the old pagan festivals
Like that of Mithras and Saturnalia
The sixth of January is Christmas day
For the apostolic church from Armenia
But it’s the following day that’s Special
For the Orthodox Church of Russia

Category

Sub-category

Author

DOB?