No St. John´s celebration in 2020 for Catholics in the interior of Guyana

In the interior of Guyana, the annual celebration of the feast of the birth of St John the Baptist on June 24th usually begins with a solemn Mass, followed by a public activity of lighting a huge bonfire and people gathered around to walk on the remaining hot coals. The public event normally is accompanied with mostly Brazilian forró music and dance, something that is practiced especially in the Rupununi; a celebration that takes a similar form in neighbouring Brazil. However, this year 2020, the solemn feast was observed at home and families prayed for those victims of the Coronavirus, especially at Santa Rosa, Moruca which is the hardest hit Catholic indigenous area presently.

In Guyana, the St. John the Baptist celebration began to be observed at Santa Rosa to celebrate the arrival of the first priest to the people there after they requested for a sacerdote to be their pastor. According to Church documents, Fr. Hynes arrived at Santa Rosa on June 24th 1830 - the feast of St. John, where he baptised 75 children and married two couples.

Upon the priest´s arrival at Santa Rosa, the early Morucans welcomed him with the local custom of firing bamboo cannons and a bonfire. A symbolic gesture of God´s mission to John as in the story of John the Baptist where God sent him for that special mission to preach about repentance and to baptize people, tell them about the Kingdom of God and prepare them for the Messiah’s coming.

Given this history, St. John´s celebration was subsequently brought to the Rupununi by the Arawaks of Santa Rosa; the oldest Catholic mission in the interior of Guyana. Later, most Catholics and others embraced the practice in celebrating the feast in the Rupununi. In neighbouring Brazil it is also celebrated and Catholics of the Rupununi working over there are exposed to the solemn religious feast, so both sides most Rupununians celebrate it depending on which side they are for June 24th every year.

Speaking with residents of the Rupununi and Santa Rosa by Whatsapp recently, they said that this year there were no activities of making a bonfire and walking on the hot coals in the villages because of the mandatory ban on social gathering and on public events to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus in indigenous communities. A celebration that a lot of people missed.

May Saint John intercede and pray for the people of Santa Rosa who are suffering from the Coronavirus out-break there these days. St. John Pray for Morucans!

Brief history of feast of the birth of St John the Baptist

The nativity of John the Baptist on the June 24th is a high-ranking liturgical feast, kept in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran churches. The sole biblical account of the birth of John the Baptist comes from the Gospel of Luke.

Christians have long interpreted the life of John the Baptist as a preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, and the circumstances of his birth, as recorded in the New Testament, are miraculous. John's pivotal place in the gospel is seen in the emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth and the event itself, both set in prominent parallel to the same occurrences in the life of Jesus.

Brief history of the bonfire for the St. John celebration

The celebration of mid-summer´s Eve was from ancient times linked to the summer solstice. Some people believed that mid-summer plants especially Calendula/ Marigold had miraculous healing powers and they therefore picked them on this night. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again. However, over time, this holiday has lost most of its sacral meaning and only its festive elements remain.

Additionally, although mid-summer is originally a pagan holiday, in Christianity it is associated with the nativity of John the Baptist, which is observed on the June 24th annually. It is six months before Christmas because Luke 1:36 implies that John the Baptist was born six months earlier that Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened.