24th June: Feast Day of St John the Baptist

Because today is his feast day, here are 10 things you may not know about John the Baptist:

1. The story of John the Baptist is related in the Qur'an as well as in the Bible. He is described there as being kind, gentle and humble as well as showing wisdom way beyond his years. Islamic mystics in particular revere him as a prophet.
2. Although the relics of St John are believed to be in a basilica in Alexandria, nobody is sure what happened to his head. Several places claim to possess it, including Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; San Silvestro in Capite in Rome; the Residenz Museum in Munich; Amiens Cathedral in France (brought home by Wallon de Sarton from the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople); Antioch in Turkey, and the parish church at Tenterden in Kent, where it was preserved up until the Reformation. One interesting claim is that John's head was brought to Halifax, West Yorkshire, which has John's head on its coat of arms, The name of the town is said to derive from "halig" meaning holy and "fax" meaning face, which suggests to some scholars that early religious settlers brought a "holy face" with them.
3. Three places claim to possess John's right hand, the one which baptised Jesus: the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje monastery in Montenegro, Topkapi Palace in Istanbul and the Romanian skete of the Forerunner on Mount Athos. Only one place claims to have his left hand: the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. John at Chinsurah, West Bengal, where each year on "Chinsurah Day" in January it blesses the Armenians of Calcutta.
4. He is said to have appeared in Pennsylvania, USA, to Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints, so he is an important figure in the Mormon religion.
5. The gnostics claim that John never ate locusts, because he was a vegetarian, but would have eaten Honey cakes or manna.
6. The Eastern Orthodox Church dedicates every Tuesday to John the Baptist.
7. John is the patron saint of Jordan, Puerto Rico and its capital city, San Juan, Newfoundland, French Canada, Porto in Portugal, Charleston in South Carolina  and Penzance, Cornwall.
8. He is also the patron of candle makers, farriers, roads and road workers, leather workers, wool workers and health spas.
9. His emblem is a lamb, and he is invoked for the protection of lambs.
10. The feast day is steeped in folklore. If it rains on St John's Day, it will also rain during harvest. Herbs picked on this day, especially Saint John's wort, will have extra healing power. People who go looking in lonely places may find hidden treasure on this day, and it is the best day to cut divining rods.