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Ordinary Time
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Also called: Midsummer Day, St. John's Eve, La Saint-Jean, Johannistag, Día de San Juan, Midsommar (Sweden)
June 24 (exactly six months before Christmas; Luke 1:26 sets Gabriel's visit to Mary six months after Elizabeth's conception)
CatholicEastern OrthodoxAnglicanLutheran
John the Baptist — the wild preacher who baptised Jesus in the Jordan — gets one of only three birthdays celebrated in the church calendar (along with Jesus and Mary). His feast is 24 June, near the summer solstice, with bonfires in some countries echoing older midsummer traditions.
Orthodox churches often celebrate in July on the Julian calendar. Eden lists Jordan River pilgrimages where you can visit baptism sites linked to John.
At a glance
- Type
- solemnity
- Date type
- Fixed (same date every year)
- Regions
- Global
- Themes
- Life of Christ, Apostles
- Liturgical colour
- White
Common questions
Nativity of St. John the Baptist is observed on June 24 (exactly six months before Christmas; Luke 1:26 sets Gabriel's visit to Mary six months after Elizabeth's conception). Moveable feasts shift each year; fixed feasts stay on the same calendar date.
One of only three birthdays celebrated in the Christian church calendar calendar (the others being Christ's and Mary's), because John was sanctified "from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). The feast coincides with midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere. In Scandinavia (Midsommar), the feast is celebrated with bonfires and dancing. In Spain and Latin America, Día de San Juan is celebrated with bonfires, fir
It is associated with Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran. It falls in the Ordinary Time season of the liturgical year.