There are many legends about John the Baptist. One of stories reads as follows: John was a very handsome young man, but poor. A wealthy woman wanted to seduce him, knowing that it is a sin, St. John asked God to take away his seductive beauty that the woman left him. In answer to his prayer, God taught him to take a knife and cut off his head. St. John cut his head off, but instead of the human head appeared a sheep's one. So he got rid of sin.
Another legend tells that God loved John for his frantic prayers. When the time came for the will of God, St. John became the godfather of Jesus Christ.
Head of John the Baptist, cut off by Herod Antipas because of the machinations and intrigues of the Jewish princess Herodias and her daughter Salome. It is one of the most sacred objects of worship in Christendom.
St. John is the saint patron of children, taking care of, so they do not die unbaptised.
On the day of St. John do not eat round vegetables and fruits, in the form of the head (apples, plums, walnuts, garlic), reminding Christians about the tragic episode of the beheading of St. John the Baptist.
On this autumn day commemorate the dead, giving for their memory fruits. This day is considered as the day of fasting and meditation for all who truly believe in God.
