(Info taken from a cool free kindle book i found).
Centuries before Jesus was born, the Druids celebrated "The Winter Solstice". They would gather together and rejoice that the worst part of winter was passing; that they had managed to survive, and that they could begin enjoying longer days. This celebration of light and survival would take place anywhere between December 20th to the 23rd every year, depending on the calendar shift. Cattle were slaughtered during this time so that they would not have to be fed through the winter. For many people, this would be one of the only times throughout the entire year that they would have fresh meat.
Many different cultures celebrated at this time of year too. Some Romans celebrated Saturnalia (the god of agriculture) between December 17 and 25.
In the year 350, Pope Julius I decreed that December 25 would be the day for Christians to commemorate Jesus' birth.
Jesus' mother, Mary, was probably about 13 or 14 years old, and set to marry Joseph. Back then, the engagement period was a year long, and was considered the same as being married, but without living together or having sexual relations. So if you broke up during your engagement period, you would have to get a divorce. This is why Joseph considered divorcing Mary after he found out that she was pregnant. But he changed his mind and decided to marry her after finding out the truth.
Months later, Joseph and Mary traveled the 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census that occurred every 14 years for tax purposes. It's possible that Mary could have been having labor pains during this time. Joseph takes Mary to an inn that he knows of, but it is full. Back then, an inn was just a series of stalls opening off of a courtyard. The innkeeper only provided hay for the animals, and a fire to cook with. Bethlehem also had cave-like stables hollowed out in the limestone rock, which is where Joseph and Mary decided to stay. It was in one of these limestone cave-stables where Jesus was born.
Thousands of angels appeared to shepherds near Bethlehem who were looking after the Temple lambs. Angels are big; at least the size of full-grown men. And the one that told the shepherds of Jesus' birth was huge, and many mega-watts bright! No wonder whenever angels appear in the Bible, one of the first things they always say is "fear not" or "don't be afraid"!
There were not only 3 wise men from the East. The Bible doesn't say how many there were. There were actually probably about 40 of them. They were kings (Magi), better known as wise men or astrologers from Babylon (Iraq). They were considered men of holiness and wisdom who had significant knowledge of Judaism. The Magi were a tribe of priests who usually traveled in bands of 40 to 60 more. The idea that there were only 3 wise men probably came from the fact that they gave Jesus three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The 3 wise men who gave gifts to Jesus are as follows: Melchior, who was old and gray with a long beard, gave gold. Caspar, who was young and beardless, gave frankincense. Balthazar, who had a dark complexion and a new beard, gave myrrh. All of these gifts were of great value during that time. In their culture, gold was for a king, frankincense was for a priest, and myrrh was for one who is to die.
The star that the Magi had followed went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where Jesus was. The "star" could actually have been an angel. In an ancient Arabic text, it says "There appeared to (the Magi) an angel in the form of a star which had guided them on their journey; and they went away, following the guidance of its light".
The Magi probably didn't show up at the manger in Bethlehem the very night that Jesus was born. The Bible says that they arrived at a house that Jesus was living in at Bethlehem, not a stable.
The 12 days of Christmas are considered as the number of days that it took the Magi to travel to Bethlehem after Jesus was born. Epiphany is the holiday celebrated on the 12th night after Christmas and signifies when the Magi arrived and gave their gifts to Jesus. Considering this, the angel-star would have had to appear to the Magi months before Jesus' birth because of the extreme distance they had to travel.
Nobody knows for sure if Jesus was born on or around December 25. But the Bible says that there were shepherds in the fields during the time Jesus was born. The Mishna, which is a book of rules of the Jewish people, allows sheep in the fields close to Bethlehem only during the 30 days prior to Passover. At all other times, the sheep were not allowed near a city or village. This period before Passover would be a time around early March. That being true, then Jesus would not have been born during December, since shepherds would not be herding their sheep near Bethlehem during that time. Jesus was more likely born closer to Easter time.
So why would Pope Julius I have selected December 25 to celebrate Jesus' birth? It could have been to try to dissolve the Saturnalia festival in early Roman times, along with other pagan worship festivals that were frowned upon by the Church around this time.
Why were these celebrations frowned upon? During Saturnalia, which lasted for a week, the Romans participated in all sorts of activities that included a binge of drinking and eating as much as they wanted, sex, and did anything that they pleased, without any recourse from any laws or authorities. At the start of the festival, Roman officials would select someone to represent the "Lord of Misrule" (who was usually a person deemed "an enemy of the Roman people" a/k/a criminal). At the end of the week, the person selected as "Lord of Misrule" would be executed as a way of combating "dark forces".
So you can see why the Church would want to do away with this celebration. Choosing December 25 as the day to celebrate Jesus' birth allowed different cultures to continue to celebrate around the time they normally did, but focusing on Jesus' birth instead.
Druid priests who had converted to Christianity incorporated Christian events at the same time as pagan holidays to get the people to celebrate the right thing during a time they were familiar with.
However, some Christians, like the Puritans, didn't even want to observe Jesus' birthday as a holiday. Why? They didn't believe that December 25 was His birthday, and they didn't like it since they considered it to be a pagan-originated holiday. Celebrating Christmas was completely banned in Boston between about 1659 and 1681. If you were caught celebrating, you would be fined. But there were other colonies that did take part in Christmas celebrations throughout early America, even if it did go against the grain.
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