The celebration of Midsummer'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. In later years, witches were also thought to be on their way to meetings with other powerful beings. However, over time, this holiday has lost most of its sacral meaning and only its various festive elements remain.
Although Midsummer is originally a pagan holiday, in Christianity it is associated with the nativity of John the Baptist, which is observed on the same day, June 24, in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant churches. It is six months before Christmas because Luke 1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that John the Baptist was born six months earlier than Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened.
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist (or Birth of John the Baptist, or Nativity of the Forerunner) is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus and who baptized Jesus.
How the feast of St John is linked to Moruca.
The history of the Catholic mission to the Amerindian of Guyana actually begins in Venezuela. Throughout the 18th century Spanish Franciscans ministered to the indigenous people of territories around the Orinoco. Their mission however came to an abrupt and tragic end when on 3 May 1817 Simon Bolivar’s forces put to death 26 priests and two lay brothers. The Amerindians fled from the destroyed mission, some seeking refuge in the British held territory around the Moruca River. Years later, when these Arawaks heard that a Catholic priest had arrived in Georgetown they sent word to him asking for someone to come to minister to them. On 24 June 1830, John Hynes, OP arrived in Moruca to spend three days during which he baptized 75 children and married two couples.
This historical understanding of the Catholic Church in Santa Rosa Moruca made the community a reference in Guyana for having the tradition of celebrating the feast of St. John, the 24th of June every year. Because it was on June 24 1830, the feast of St. John, a priest from Georgetown went to Moruca resquested by a group of Amerindians to who had arrived from Venezuela as refugess, to help encourage them in their faith journey which they brought to their new home.The celebration normally is in the form of a campfire to symbolize the history, and above all the catholic faith being alight in the lives of the Moruca people.
Reference:
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Our Catholic Tradition Guyana, 2004.
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