Celebrations of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

June 24 is the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, a major liturgical day in the Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, and a feast day with great religious and cultural significance in Sonora.

San Juan Bautista is one of the most revered saints, as the prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the form of Jesus Christ, and who baptized Jesus in the River Jordan.

Where the feast days of saints usually celebrate the day of their death (and birth into the afterlife), the nativity of Saint John the Baptist commemorates his birth, six months before the birth of Christ.

The date is linked to two other major days on the liturgical calendar. It is three months after the annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel informed Mary that she would conceive Jesus, and six months before Christmas.

Saint John also has a feast day on August 29 to commemorate his beheading, around the year A.D 28.

Global Celebrations in Honor of Saint John

The nativity of Saint John is observed in different ways in different regions of the world.

Europeans light fires on the eve of the nativity and believe that herbs picked on the eve of June 24 have special healing powers, and hidden treasures sit exposed in open places. Some Scandinavian and Slavic countries have ancient beliefs that witches and demons are allowed to roam the earth of the eve of the nativity.

Observances of Día de San Juan in Sonora

In Sonora, the feast day of St John is revered among the native peoples of the region, especially the indigenous Yoeme Yaqui and Yoreme Mayo.

Instead of fire, the day is celebrated with water, perhaps because Saint John is the patron saint of baptism and the date comes at a time when seasonal summer rains typically begin in this hot, dry desert region. A common belief is that any rains on June 24 will be holy water.

Celebrations typically begin on the eve of the nativity of St John and continue through the night. The day of the 24th is celebrated with religious services, processions, dance and other activities. Most involve lots of water, where participants get wet through sprinkling, throwing water or otherwise getting soaked with water.

Festivities in Pueblo Viejo, Navojoa, Sonora

In the Yoreme Mayo pueblo of Pueblo Viejo, Navojoa, observances of this special day begin on the 22nd with a traditional canariom ceremony,

Starting on the eve of the Dia de San Juan, traditional paskola, matachin and deer dancers perform with musicians through the night at a gathering in the pueblo’s ramada area.

On the morning of June 24, a procession takes the image of Saint John to the River Mayo, led by matachin dancers, paskolas and deer dancers.

Saint John is then taken in to the river, where the saintly image is bathed. It is a ritual that the faithful believe also blesses the river’s water, making it holy water. Participants on the banks of the River Mayo enter the water and splash each other and collect samples of the holy water.