Nativity of St. John the Baptist

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Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Russian icon of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Observed by	Anglicans Orthodox Lutherans Roman Catholics
Type	Christian
Significance	Celebrates the birth John, of Jesus’ predecessor and relative.
Date	June 24
Celebrations	Religious services
Related to	Christmas Epiphany the Visitation

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist is a Christian festival which is celebrates the birth of Jesus’ cousin John.

1 Significance
2 Liturgical Celebrations
3 Timing
4 Customs
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Significance

Birth of St. John the Baptist, depicting Zechariah writing his name

Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as being a preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, and the circumstances of his birth, as recorded in the New Testament, are just as miraculous. According to the Gospel of Luke, John’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were without children and both were beyond child-bearing years. While Zechariah was offering incense in the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that he and his wife would give birth to a child they should name John. However, because Zechariah did not believe the message of Gabriel, he was rendered speechless until the time of the child's birth; at that time, his relatives wanted to named the child after his father, and Zechariah wrote, "His name is John" and could speak.

When Gabriel latter appeared to Mary to inform her that she would be come pregnant with Jesus, the young girl fled to the home of Elizabeth, her cousin, who was already six months pregnant. Luke’s Gospel recounts that the baby “leapt” in Elizabeth’s womb at the greeting of Mary.

See Further: John the Baptist in the New Testament

[edit] Liturgical Celebrations

The Nativity of John the Baptist is part of the Christmas cycle since it’s date falls exactly six months before (or after) Christmas, thus being celebrated on June 24 as a fixed festival (unlike the moveable festivals related to Easter). Luke’s Gospel records that Gabriel announced the impending birth of John six months before he announced Jesus’ birth to Mary. This places the annunciation of his birth on September 23, though the annunciation of his birth is not celebrated in the same way that the announcement of Jesus’ birth is. The Catholic Encyclopedia admits that the traditional date for John’s birth is probably incorrect as there is little historical evidence for it having taken place on this date. However, the purpose of the festival is not to commemorate the exact date of his birth per se, but rather to commemorate his birth at all and to do so in a way related to the birth of Jesus, which is commemorated in December.

The Nativity of John the Baptist is not a widespread holiday. It is kept in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic churches, and with varying degrees of observance. However, unlike the Reformed and free churches, this particular celebration is at least nominally a part of the calendar, even if it is not observed in practice.

In all Christian churches, commemorations of individual saints are kept on the date of their deaths, or “heavenly birthdays.” The Nativity of John the Baptist is one of two exceptions to the rule in that the primary commemoration is the birth of the saint rather than the day of his death. The other exception is the Virgin Mary. It should also be noted, however, that the date of Mary’s death (August 15) is also kept by all of the above mentioned churches, though the date of St. John’s death is not similarly widespread. In the case of Lutherans, Mary’s birth is not widely commemorated so that John the Baptist is the only individual who is remembered liturgically on the date of his birth.

In addition to the birth of John the Baptist (who is also called the forerunner because his the purpose of his ministry was to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ), the Orthodox Church also has the following commemorations of the life of John the Baptist:

January 7 - The Commemoration of St. John the Forerunner (main feast day, immediately after Epiphany on January 6)
February 24 - First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
May 25 - Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
August 29 - The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
September 23 Conception of St. John the Forerunner and the Commemoration of Sts. Zechariah and Elizabeth

Of those listed above, Anglicans and Roman Catholics only celebrate the Beheading (Decollation) of John. Some Lutherans only commemorate Zechariah and Elizabeth, although their commemoration is September 5 rather than September 23. January 7 is also used in Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic churches to celebrate John’s baptism of Jesus, while Lutherans and Anglicans generally commemorate the baptism in a separate festival on the Sunday following Epiphany.

The nativity of John the Baptist is one of the oldest festivals of the Christian church, being listed by the Council of Agde in 506 as one of the principal festivals for that region. The day was reqruied to be observed with rest and, like Christmas, was celebrated in the West with three masses: a vigil, at dawn, and at midday.

[edit] Timing

The question would naturally arise as to why the celebration falls on June 24 rather than June 25 is the date is to be precisely six months before Christmas. It has often been claimed that the Church authorities wanted to "Christianize" the pagan solstice celebrations and for this reason advanced Saint John's feast as a substitute for the former pagan festival. This explanation is obviously erroneous because in those centuries the solstice took place around the middle of June due to the inaccuracy of the Julian calendar. It was only in 1582, through the Gregorian calendar reform, that the solstice fell on June 23.

Therefore, a more likely reason why the festival falls on June 24 lies in the Roman way of counting, which proceeded backward from the Kalends (first day) of the succeeding month. Christmas was "the eighth day before the Kalends of January" (Octavo Kalendas Januarii). Consequently, Saint John's Nativity was put on the "eighth day before the Kalends of July." However, since June has only thirty days, in our present (Germanic) way of counting, the feast falls on June 24.

[edit] Customs

Beyond the religious commemoration, many regional customs associated with the Nativity of John the Baptist are in fact more related to the concurrent celebration of midsummer which are themselves remnants of pre-Christian pagan midsummer festivals. St. Eligius warned against midsummer activities and encouraged new converts to avoid them in favor of the celebration of St. John the Baptist’s birth.