Christmas in May?

Abstract

This article re-examines evidence collected by Bernard Botte for a commemoration of the birth of Christ in the middle of May in the early Jerusalem liturgical calendar, focusing especially on the mid-May commemoration of the Infants Slain by Herod in the Armenian lectionary. It finds the case for such a commemoration to be strong and suggests a possible connection with Pentecost and the date for the birth of Isaac in the Book of Jubilees. It adds to the evidence the commemoration of Mary Theotokos on August 15 in the Armenian lectionary.