What is Saint John the Baptist?
Saint John the Baptist, the prophet who baptised Jesus in the Jordan, is remembered on several dates. The main feast is the Nativity of John the Baptist on 24 June, six months before Christmas, because the Gospel of Luke says Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the angel spoke to Mary. In the Orthodox Church the Synaxis, or gathering, of John the Forerunner on 7 January honours the man who baptised Jesus on the previous day, Theophany. The Orthodox also keep the Nativity on 24 June, and the Beheading of John on 29 August.
In Romania, 7 January is Sfântul Ion, a public holiday and a major name day, since Ion, Ioan, Ioana and related names are among the commonest in the country. The 24 June feast is a holiday in Catalonia, where the eve, the Revetlla de Sant Joan, brings bonfires, fireworks and coca, a sweet flatbread, and in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where it coincides with Midsummer. The June date is linked to Midsummer customs elsewhere, though in Finland and Sweden Midsummer is kept on a weekend day between 19 and 26 June.
Why it is observed
The birth feast on 24 June is one of the oldest in the Christian calendar; a church council in Agde, in 506, already listed it among its region's principal festivals. John is unusual in that his birth is celebrated as well as his death. The June date sits close to the summer solstice, which is why bonfires, the 'Saint John's fires' lit on the eve in many parts of Europe, are associated with it, though the claim that the church deliberately replaced a pagan solstice festival is questioned by some scholars. The Orthodox Synaxis follows directly on Theophany on 6 January.
How the date is set
The name covers two feasts of the same saint on different dates. The Nativity of John the Baptist is fixed on 24 June, while the Orthodox Synaxis of John the Baptist is fixed on 7 January, the day after Epiphany or Theophany. Romania's holiday is on 7 January.
How it is observed
In Romania, 7 January is a non-working public holiday, added to the Labour Code by Law 52/2023. Together with Epiphany on 6 January it extends the winter break. Banks, offices and schools close. The 24 June feast is a holiday in Catalonia, which fixes its calendar by an annual order, so check the official list for the year, and in Estonia and Lithuania; Latvia keeps 23 and 24 June. Other places observe it locally as a patron's day. Pay and time off depend on national law, the region and the contract.
Sources
Romania