Nativity of St John the Baptist

Origin and history

The Gospel of Luke tells how John was born to Zechariah, a Jewish priest, and Elizabeth, who had been childless and were past the age for children. When Gabriel announced Jesus's birth to Mary, he told her that her cousin Elizabeth was already six months pregnant. So the feast falls on 24 June, three months after the Annunciation and six months before Christmas. Usually the church honours saints on the day of their death; John and the Virgin Mary are the notable saints whose birthdays are kept. It is one of the oldest Christian festivals: the Council of Agde in 506 listed it among the principal feasts, and like Christmas it once had three Masses.

Customs

• It is a public holiday in Quebec, Catalonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Puerto Rico.
• John is the patron saint of Florence, and painters there often showed his birth in a rich household setting, as in Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco in Santa Maria Novella.
• In Lutheran Leipzig, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote cantatas for the day, including one on Martin Luther's baptism hymn.

How traditions differ

The feast is kept by Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches. Eastern churches call John the Forerunner and keep several other days in his honour, including 7 January, the day after Theophany.

In the library

Works: The Bible

Great Lives: Johann Sebastian Bach · Martin Luther

More in After Pentecost

Trinity Sunday · Corpus Christi · Sts Peter and Paul · Michaelmas · All Hallows' Eve · Reformation Day · All Saints' Day · All Souls' Day · St Martin's Day (Martinmas) · Christ the King