Welcome to the British History Podcast, my name is Jamie.

As you know, we're currently doing a membership drive.

Membership really keeps this thing running, and right now is an excellent time to become

a member.

If you become a yearly member, you're going to get members only episodes, transcripts,

timelines, and more.

You're also going to get BHP buttons and stickers sent to your house, so if you're interested,

we really would appreciate your support.

Also, it makes a great gift.

So if you'd like to become a member, you can do so over at my site, theBritishHistoryPodcast.com.

Okay, let's cover some history.

So since it's Christmas, I thought it would be fun to look into an aspect of Christmas

that's always interested me, and we could look into it with our usual BHP style.

Ever since I was a kid in Catholic school, I've been somewhat fascinated by the date

of Christmas.

I've often wondered where it came from, given that it doesn't appear anywhere in the

Bible.

And as the feast is celebrating the birth of Jesus, it seemed rather odd to set the date

so close to midwinter, given the fact that the Middle East gets pretty nippy in winter,

and the story of the Nativity takes place pretty much outside, you know, with lambs

and stuff.

So what was going on there?

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