Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Today we remember not a death but a birth, and that is rare: in the Roman Martyrology, the only ones whose day of birth is also celebrated are Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist. The date is no accident. Luke says Elizabeth was in her sixth month when the angel came to Mary: six months before December 25 is June 24. In this, the Christian calendar is a piece of reasoning. And it falls on the summer solstice, that is, on the longest day, when the light begins to wane — while Christmas falls when it begins to grow again. The Fathers of the Church had noticed, and they read in it the Baptist’s words about Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John was the son of Zechariah, a priest, and of Elizabeth, who had him late in life. He lived as an ascetic in the desert, baptized in the Jordan, and ended up beheaded in the fortress of Machaerus, sometime between 29 and 32, for telling Herod Antipas what he thought of his marriage. The night between June 23 and 24 is one of the most heavily laden with folk beliefs in the whole calendar: the bonfires, the dew, Saint John’s water with flowers left outside to catch the night. These are very ancient customs, older than Christianity, that attached themselves to this day and never left. If your name is John or Joan, today is your name day.