Zechariah Chapter 8 starting in verse 18 is an interesting Prophecy.
And the word of YHWH of hosts came unto me, saying, "Thus saith YHWH of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. Thus saith YHWH of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before YHWH, and to seek YHWH of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek YHWH of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before YHWH. Thus saith YHWH of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you."
The Four Fast days alluded to here are the four tied in their origins to the Fall of Jerusalem who's dates are determined by Chronological statements in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The fast of the Fourth Month is the 17th of Tammuz, the Fast of the Fifth Month if the 9th of Av, the Fast of the Seventh Month is Yom Gedaliah the 3rd of Tishri and the Fast of the Tenth Month is the 10th of Tevet.
The 10th of Tevet is perhaps the most obscure of these to Gentiles so let me highlight the Exact Biblical support for The Tenth Month's Fast being the 10th Day of the Month. 2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 52:4 and Ezekiel 24:1-2.
From a New Testament Christian Doctrinal perspective Jerusalem is no longer a single Earthly location but rather the Mishkan is anywhere multiple Believers gather together.
The main point is that the Fast Days are traditionally the Sad days of the Hebrew Calendar. But YHWH is promising to make them Joyful Celebrations.
Perhaps the last of these listed is the first to be fulfilled? Perhaps how that day becomes a Joyous Celebration is how The Gospel Narrative Begins?
A lot of the arguments for Jesus being born around December 25th or January 6th are tied to seeing the Conception of Jesus, the Annunciation and Visitation in the Gospel Narratives, happening around the same time of year as The Crucifixion and Resurrections meaning near the Aviv/Nisan Holy Days. For example it's believed that must be what Julius Africanus meant when he placed the Incarnation on March 25th, since at the Visitation in Luke 1:41-45 Jesus seems to be already incarnated in Mary's Womb.
Zola Levitt developed a theory about a correlation between the Gestation Cycle and The Torah Holy Days.
I am a little skeptical of all the parts of it, but significance of the 14th Day of the First Month seems to hold up.
Gestation is typically 280 days or 9 Month and 10 Days being. So if the First Month of Mary's cycle happened to line up with the first month of the Biblical calendar, the day those days would be completed in Luke 2:6 would be the Tenth Day of The Tenth Month, the 10th of Tevet Fast Day. And on that day an Angel appeared to the Shepherds in verse 10 to bring tidings of Great Joy.
I've already argued that The Torah Calendar should be Solar not Lunar.
Right now the Spring Equinox most often falls on March 20th, so if we decide to equate the first of Aviv with the day after, which would be March 21st, that would make the 10th of Tevet December 25th since five 31st days occur in between.
A January 6th Nativity would then put the start of Aviv on April 2nd, while happening to have December 25th fall during Hanukkah.
Now Ezekiel 33:21 does provide a small justification for alternatively considering the Fifth Day the Fast Day of the Tenth Month, which if that was synchronized to December 25th would make either of the last two days of Hanukkah the Winter Solstice. And would counting backwards make the Fifth of November the Feast of Jeroboam and Halloween the day the Flood started.
My argument that Biblical Days are Sunrise to Sunrise not Sunset based actually impacts the timing of Christmas. You see the concept of Christmas Eve came from the Biblical days begin at Sunset assumption, and Luke 2 clearly has Jesus born during the Nighttime Hours. So it's the night that begins at Sunset December 24th through Sunrise December 25th that is most directly being tied to when Jesus was Born by this tradition. So if the Fifth of Tevet is synchronized to December 24th then counting backwards Tom Kippur is September 30th making sunset of September 29th the start of the evening of the 9th day of the Seventh Month. Which would mean Michaelmas could have it's origins in a Christianized Yom Kippur observance. And it would make March 24th traditional Annunciation Day the first of Aviv, but makes April 7th the Coptic Annunciation day Aviv 14.
But going back to the Tenth of Tevet theory. If the Day of the Tenth is December 24th then counting backwards that would make Yom Kippur the 25th of September the first day of Tabernacles the 30th which can also be a theory for the origin of Michaelmas. And it makes March 20th the first of Aviv.
So there ya go, I made a Biblical Argument for celebrating The Birth of The Messiah on December 25th. One that's flexible even.
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