December 17th is the Roman festival of Saturnalia, today we call it Christmas.
Why is Christmas December 25th? Over time, Saturnalia grew until it occupied most of December. Somehow Christmas was changed into a date closer to the end of the month rather than in the middle of it.
Read about Saturnalia here: https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/how-did-the-romans-celebrate-christmas/
When did Christmas start to replace Saturnalia? The earliest references to a celebration we'd identify as Christmas, occurred in Rome in the 4th century.
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