There are 2 St John's Days, June 24 St John the Baptist
(John the Baptist is mentioned by the
Roman Jewish historian
Josephus[22] and revered as a major religious figure
[23] in
Christianity,
Islam, the
Baháʼí Faith,
[24] and
Mandaeism. He is called a
prophet by all of these faiths, and is honoured as a
saint in many
Christian traditions. According to the
New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself,
[25] and the
Gospels portray John as the precursor or forerunner of
Jesus,
[26] since John announces Jesus' coming and prepares the people for Jesus' ministry.)
and December 27 St Johns Day the Evangelist.
(
Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle. The Apostle John was one of the "pillars" of the
Jerusalem church after Jesus' death.
[7] He was one of the original
twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have not been killed for his faith. It had been believed that he was exiled (around 95 AD) to the Aegean island of
Patmos, where he wrote the
Book of Revelation.)
St. John's Day, Masonic feast
Freemasons historically celebrate two feasts of saints who are both named John. The feast of John the Baptist falls on 24 June, and that of John the Evangelist on 27 December, roughly marking mid-summer and mid-winter. During the Eighteenth Century, the Premier Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Ireland favoured the day of John the Baptist, while the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Ancient Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of All England at York installed their Grand Masters on the feast day of John the Evangelist.