The Nativity of John the Baptist is a Christian high-ranking liturgical feast day observed annually on 24 June by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. It is one of only two feast days marking a saint\'s earthly birth (the other being the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September); all other saint’s days mark their deaths or some other important event. The sole biblical account of the birth of John the Baptist comes from the Gospel of Luke which states that John was born six months before Jesus; thus, the feast of John the Baptist’s birth was fixed in the 4th century A.D. on 24 June, six months before Christmas. In the Roman calendar, 24 June was the date of the summer solstice, and Saint John\'s Eve is closely associated with Midsummer festivities in Europe. Traditions in France & Quebec, include bonfires (Saint John\'s fires), feasting, processions, church services, and gathering wild plants. Dan Snow\'s History Hit podcast at podcasthttps://amzn.to/4feSBb7  The Immerser: John the Baptist by Joan Taylor at https://amzn.to/3LEQrE4 John the Baptist books available at https://amzn.to/3LCfQy1 Gospel of Luke available at https://amzn.to/3M6sTId Gospel of Matthew available at https://amzn.to/3LEeP8F  ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet  SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you).  Mark Vinet\'s HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america                                             Mark\'s TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet  Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels   Mark\'s books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM   Audio Credit: Dan Snow\'s History Hit podcast 23jun2024 (Episode 1463: John the Baptist with Joan Taylor, professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King\'s College London). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.