June 24

St. John the Baptist's Feastday
Midsummer's Day
 

John the Baptist is regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism, and the Bahá'í Faith. The story of his life and death is one of the best known biblical tales. His mother, Elizabeth, conceived him when she was in her sixties and John left home as a teenager to live a hermit's life in the desert. According to St. Matthew (3:5), he clothed himself in a camel hair caftan and subsisted on "locusts and honey."

After several years in the desert, John became an itinerant fire and brimstone preacher, warning his followers to "Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.". Many of his followers believed that John was the long-awaited Messiah, but when John began to baptize his followers, he insisted that he was only the forerunner of the Messiah

 

St, John the Baptist by Diego Velazquez

Later in his preaching, John incurred the wrath of Herod Antipas who married his half-brother's wife, Herodias. John was confined to prison where apparently he was found irresistible to Salome, Herodias's daughter. Because John would have nothing to do with her, Salome obtained a drunkenly excited promise from Herod during his birthday party as the result of her seductive dance. When Salome came to claim her reward, she asked for John's head on a platter, which Herod reluctantly presented to her.

John's desert adventures and the John/Salome psychosexual soap opera have been  popular subjects in theater, opera, and film. John has been portrayed in more than 50 of films and television productions including notable performances by Alan Badel in Salome (1953) with Rita Hayworth as Salome; Robert Ryan in King of Kings (1961); Charleton Heston in George Stevens'  The Greatest Story Ever Told (1963);  Andre Gregory in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Bryn Terfel in the film of Richard Strauss's opera Salomé (1997); Richard E. Grant in The Miracle Maker (2000); and Aidan McArdle in the TV film Judas (2004).

John's desert diet of locusts and honey may seem nauseating to some. Most biblical scholars believe that the term 'locusts' did not refer to the insect, but to the locust bean, also known as St. John's Bread or carob. Carob pods are between four and eight inches long with a brown leathery covering. However, they have a fleshy fruit of nearly 50% sugar and a taste similar to chocolate which has made the fruit a very popular chocolate substitute for health fadists and people with chocolate allergies. Carob is also used in the production of commercial cough syrups

John the Baptist's feastday is also celebrated as Midsummer's Day in Great Britain. There was an old Celtic superstition that the sun would spin in the sky on Midsummer's Day. Although Midsummer's eve is usually the traditional time for lighting the bonfires called St. John's bonfires, in Cornwall the fire is lit on Midsummer's Day and in earlier times was topped with a witch's broom and hat as a warning to witches to stay away from the area. To counteract any existing witch's spells, a specified group of forty herbs and spices were thrown into the fire. The herbs and spices were eventually made into cakes which were then toasted in the fire. These little cakes became the forerunners of spice cookies which have become a traditional treat on Midsummer's Day. Here are two versions of these celebratory cookies.
 

St. John's Cookies
 
Ingredients
 

1/2 lb butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 TB rum
2 eggs
2 &1/2  cups flour

 

1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 TB grated orange zest
2 cups carob, chopped in small bits
2 cups white raisins
2 cups black walnut pieces
 

 
Instructions
 
  1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
  2. Cream butter and sugars, Add vanilla and rum, Beat until smooth
  3. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add 1 egg to batter, then add half of flour mixture. Beat well. Then add second egg and balance of flour mixture. Beat well.
  4. Mix in carob, raisins, zest and walnuts. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Makes about 8 dozen cookies
 

Midsummer Spice Cookies
 
Ingredients
 
I cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 TB vinegar
5 cups flour
l&1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

 		 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground gingerroot
1 TB grated orange zest

 
Instructions
 
  1. Cream shortening and flour. Beat in egg. molasses, and vinegar.
  2. Sift flour, soda, spices. Beat in well. Mix in gingerroot and zest. Chill 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Preheat oven to 375º F.
  4. Rollout dough on floured board. Cut with cookie cutters into shapes Bake about 1 in apart for about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven. allow to cool slightly then finish cooling on rack.
     
Makes about 5 dozen cookies