Susan K. Roll is a liturgical studies scholar, and this monograph is a peer reviewed history of the December 25 date rather than a devotional account of the holiday. It sets out the two leading scholarly explanations for why that date was chosen, a computation from the presumed date of the crucifixion and Annunciation, and a deliberate placing of the feast against the Roman solar calendar, and weighs each against the surviving patristic evidence rather than declaring either settled. Use it for the documented history of the date itself; it is not a source for the theology of the incarnation, which belongs to the tradition's own doctrinal statements.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
A peer reviewed liturgical studies monograph on the documented history of the December 25 date, weighing the calculation hypothesis and the History of Religions hypothesis against the primary patristic evidence rather than asserting either as settled. NotesAn academic history of how December 25 came to be kept as the date of Christmas, weighing the rival scholarly explanations against the surviving early evidence.
Citation
AuthorSusan K. Roll
PublisherKok Pharos
Publication Year1995
Source Typeacademic monograph
Claims Backed By This Source (9 claims)
This source backs 9 claims across the atlas. As facts: 8 well-attested. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Numbers, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
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