English Heritage has admitted it shared incorrect information about why Christmas is celebrated on December 25, after claiming the date came from a Roman pagan festival.
In a now-deleted post on X, the charity said Christmas replaced a celebration of the sun god Sol Invictus. Historians quickly rejected the claim, pointing out that early Christian sources already marked December 25 as the date of Jesus’s birth before the pagan festival was recorded.
Several experts accused English Heritage of spreading discredited theories. The charity later apologised and removed the posts, admitting it had got the facts wrong.
Scholars say December 25 was chosen because it was believed to be nine months after March 25, the date early Christians associated with the conception of Jesus.
