is May 31. Luke linked Mary’s visit to Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist, the last prophet before Christ. By the fourth century, John had his own feast. Since he was born six months before Jesus, one would expect it to be on June 25, but it is on June 24. Why? Because Jesus was born on the winter solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year, and the days after his birth were longer and brighter. Instead of using calendar dates for John’s birthday, church leaders used meteorological ones, that is, John was born on the summer solstice after which the light—the great
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