"The angel said to her, “The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; therefore the child to be born[a] will be holy; he will be called Son of
God (Luke 1:35)(NRSV)."
The foregoing passage is well known to most Christians,
regardless of their denomination. What is taking place is that the angel Gabriel
is announcing to Mary that she will have a son, Jesus. When read in full
context starting at verse 26, Luke writes that this was on the sixth month. Of course,
March 25th falls on the first month of the Hebrew calendar which is
Nissan, although the year begins at Rosh Hashanah during the month of Tishrei…there’s
plenty of theology to support this even if it sounds confusing. Moreover, this
brief post isn’t going to be about the Hebrew calendar, so you can relax. So,
what sixth month is Luke talking about? Well, Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin) was on the
sixth month of her pregnancy with John the Baptist, and this is what many
believe Luke meant by the sixth month. However, this idea sounds a bit ambiguous
to an extent and maybe a little unclear.
The dedication in the Gospel of Luke is to Theophilus. Based on who Theophilus was, and where he
resided we can get a better understanding of which was the sixth month Luke was
referencing, and it was most likely that Theophilus used the Syro-Macedonian
calendar. The following quote explains it well.
“There is a high probability that
the Annunciation in the sixth month is a reference to the sixth lunar month
according to Luke's Syro-Macedonian calendar. In 5 BCE the sixth lunar month of
Xanthikos was from March 10 to April 7. The middle of that month was about
March 25, 5 BCE, the traditional date for the Annunciation. This was also the
day of the Vernal Equinox (www.nowoezone.com).”
In conclusion, the Annunciation most likely took place
during the Vernal Equinox on the sixth month (Xanthikos), and, yes, Christmas
most definitely takes place nine months later. Blessings and I hope you enjoyed
reading!
References:
http://www.nowoezone.com/NTC06.htm
http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/spring-phenom
NRSV Bible