The Two Babylons - Chapter III Festivals III. The Nativity of St. John - Alexander Hislop - 1858

Alexander Hislop

The Feast of the Nativity of St. John is set down in the Papal calendar for the 24th of June, or Midsummer-day. The very same period was equally memorable in the Babylonian calendar as that of one of its most celebrated festivals. It was at Midsummer, or the summer solstice, that the month called in Chaldea, Syria, and Phoenicia by the name of "Tammuz" began; and on the first day—that is, on or about the 24th of June—one of the grand original festivals of Tammuz was celebrated. STANLEY'S Saboean Philosophy. In Egypt the month corresponding to Tammuz—viz., Epep—began June 25 (WILKINSON) - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library