From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!duke!bcw Newsgroups: net.followup Title: Re: One more thing on Christmas Article-I.D.: duke.2933 Posted: Fri Jan 21 18:46:00 1983 Received: Sat Jan 22 05:28:27 1983 References: tektronix.924 From: Bruce C. Wright @ Duke University Re: Lambing season It's probably somewhat variable exactly when the lambing season is, depending on specific flocks, climates, etc. At least in northwestern Pennslyvania, if you let nature take its course and don't separate the rams from the ewes when they come into heat, the lambs will typically be born in January and February. It is also not clear that this has much bearing on the exact date of the original Christmas - I have heard that in the early church it was celebrated later, around May, but that it was moved at the time of Constantine to fill the traditional Roman holiday season. I don't think there was anything about it being less risky to celebrate the holiday earlier in the early church - you have to remember that the persecution was rather intermittant, and that Christmas wasn't quite the wild celebration that it is today (or in fact as it has been since Constantine). Bruce C. Wright @ Duke University