Saint John the Baptist is most known for being the cousin of Jesus and the principal figure to prepare the way for Christ before He began His public ministry. He is also known for being the son of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah, who bore him in their old age.  Though the exact date of Saint John the Baptist’s birth is not known, each year the Church honors his Nativity on June 24th. This is three months after the Annunciation, March 25th, since Elizabeth was already six months along when the angel appeared to Mary and Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:24-26).  Saint John the Baptist is one of the few saints who have two feast days. Each year the Church celebrates the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist on June 24th as well as the date of his martyrdom which is on August 29th.  In the United States, there isn’t a particular custom for Saint John the Baptist’s feast day. Though it isn’t a Holy Day of Obligation, it would always be of merit to attend Holy Mass to honor a saint, especially on their feast days. In many countries and cultures, especially ones with long Catholic histories, people have customs and ways of celebrating feasts. For example, in Europe, St. John’s birth is commonly celebrated by “Saint John’s Day.” This celebration marks both Midsummer and Saint John’s birthday, which are six months before the birth of Christ. Among the most unusual occurs in the Nueva Ecija province of the Philippines, where residents of Bibiclat village cover themselves in mud, dried banana leaves, vines, and twigs called the “Mud People” festival. They celebrate this festival in thanksgiving for rain having stopped the execution of 14 villagers by Japanese soldiers in 1944, a miracle they attribute to Saint John the Baptist.  John the Baptist was born to Saint Elizabeth, who was a kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:36), making Jesus and Saint John related, as well. The most common term of relation suggested for the two is “cousin,” though the exact degree is unknown. John the Baptist’s mother is Saint Elizabeth, a relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the wife of Zechariah, a member of the priestly class. Elizabeth was “barren” and both she and her husband were “of advanced age” when she conceived Saint John. She believed she would never have children when the Lord answered her prayers for a son.  Saint Zechariah is his father. He was a descendant of Aaron and therefore a priest in the temple of Jerusalem and the husband of Saint Elizabeth, who had been barren for many years. Once when he was serving in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that his wife would bear a son and that he was to name him John. Because Zechariah doubted the words of the angel, he was made mute until the birth of John the Baptist. The full account of this encounter can be found in the Gospel of Luke 1:5-24.  In Luke 1: 5-7, we learn of Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah. There it reads, In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. The birth of John the Baptist can be found in the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 1, verses 57 to 60.   Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father,  but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, was barren for many years, though she and her husband Zechariah prayed for a son. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13). The full account of the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist can be found in Luke 1:5-23.