St. John's Eve
June 23, 2025
🌞 Summer Solstice, Sacred Fire: Celebrating St. John the Baptist’s Day Across Time, Culture, and Spirit
When most people think of feast days, they think of saints celebrated on the date of their death—the day they completed their mission on Earth. But June 24th is different. It marks the birthday of St. John the Baptist—one of only two birthdays honored in the liturgical calendar, the other being the Virgin Mary. John’s birth is a turning point in sacred and seasonal cycles, honored with fire, feasts, and in some places, full-on summer revelry.
Known as the “summer Christmas,” the Feast of St. John the Baptist aligns beautifully with the summer solstice. This timing is no accident. As the sun reaches its peak in the sky, the days begin ever-so-slowly tipping back toward darkness. John, heralding the coming of Christ—the light of the world—is poetically placed at this exact midpoint, reminding us of the eternal dance between light and shadow, birth and transformation.
Long before Christian liturgies were penned, the summer solstice was marked by bonfires across Europe—symbolic acts of fertility, protection, and renewal. The early Church, in its characteristic way, embraced this powerful turning point and consecrated it with spiritual meaning. The old fires became new again, now blessed in honor of the one who proclaimed the coming Messiah.
The Roman liturgy even includes blessings for these fires. Families would gather around blazing logs, not as private parties, but as communities united in celebration. Outdoor grills that now serve solo backyard barbecues were once tools of communal joy, igniting connection as well as flames.
Every culture that adopted this feast added their own flavor—sometimes literally. In England, soup simmered in honor of the saint. In Mexico, families brought chicken tamales and stuffed peppers to riverside picnics, diving into food, dance, and music. Sweden celebrates with salmon, new potatoes, and fresh strawberries. But Latvia perhaps takes the cake—or cheese.
In Latvia, June 24 is a national holiday, especially festive for anyone named “John.” Every home opens its doors to share John’s cheese (traditionally made of goat’s milk), cold cuts, horseradish, sweet rye bread, butter, honey, and—of course—sweet beer. This home brew involves sprouted barley and rye, roasted and brewed with hops, then strained through straw. It’s a labor of love, proving that celebration often requires effort, intention, and craft.
In Yorkshire, England, a related custom welcomed newcomers to the parish with tables of bread, cheese, and beer outside their homes. At just the right moment, the door would swing open with a joyful “come in!” —a reminder that feasting can be a path to belonging.
🔮 From Bayou to Baptism: St. John and Vodou
In New Orleans, St. John the Baptist is not just honored by Catholics. He is revered in Vodou as well. Why? Because Vodou, as an earth-based, adaptive spiritual system, embraces what is sacred and true wherever it is found. In the 1800s, with the Haitian Revolution still fresh in memory, Vodou was forced underground by laws banning gatherings of Black citizens. Yet the brilliant Marie Laveau—the famed Vodou Queen of New Orleans—found a loophole.
She declared June 23, St. John’s Eve, a celebration honoring the Catholic saint, but beneath the surface it remained a summer solstice ritual of renewal and spirit.
Held on the shores of Bayou St. John (no coincidence), these gatherings drew thousands—rich, poor, Black, white. Everyone was welcome. What appeared as Catholic observance to the authorities was, in truth, a powerful reclamation of sacred space. The veil between worlds, believed to be thinnest at the solstice, allowed for deep communion with ancestors and spirit guides. The central ritual? The head-washing ceremony—a Vodou form of baptism and rebirth.
Laveau’s vision was revolutionary. She wanted people to see Vodou not as demonic, but as divine. She used the feast of a beloved saint—who himself baptized Christ and lived as a desert prophet—to draw parallels and invite understanding.
Today, participants wear all white, cover their heads, and bring offerings to Laveau. She made this sacred space possible. Her legacy endures.
🌞 Rebirth, Reflection, and Reconnection
St. John’s Day is more than just a Catholic feast. It’s a portal. Whether you’re lighting a bonfire, picking herbs, making pancakes, or washing your head in sacred water, it’s a call to step into the light of summer and recognize what in your life needs to be reborn.
The solstice is a cosmic inhale. A brief pause in the cycle before the exhale begins. St. John the Baptist—ascetic, wild, and wise—reminds us to prepare, to proclaim truth, and to walk our path with integrity.
So light your fire. Bake your bread. Wash away what no longer serves.
And as the light begins its slow retreat, ask yourself:
What is ready to be born in me?