The Solstices and the two Saint John

As we all know, the Saints Johns are the Patron Saints of Freemasonry. We are familiar with the phrase: “Erected to God and dedicated to Holy Saints John”, because we all pronounced it when we became Freemasons.
In early Masonry, the feast day of St. John the Baptist was always celebrated by the Craft. In fact, the first public Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of England was born on St. John the Baptist’s day, June 24, in 1717 in London. Thereafter, the Grand Lodge of England sponsored great annual celebrations of this day for many years. Eventually the feast of St. John the Evangelist became important as well and many Lodges and Grand Lodges moved the beginning of their Masonic year from June 24 to December 27.
Now, who are those “Saints Johns” that we mention in our Sacred Oath and celebrate every year? They are:  John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical Gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River. Actually, he baptised Jesus himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor of Jesus, since John announces Jesus’s coming.
Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was one of Christ’s original twelve apostles; Saint John alone remained near his beloved Master at the foot of the Cross with the Mother of Jesus, and took her into his care as the last legacy of Christ (John 19:25-27). He always stood to his Lord and Master by the title with which he is accustomed to indicate himself without giving his name: “the disciple whom Jesus loved”.
Both Saints Johns are special Saints: they share a name, John, and they represent, in some way, the beginning and the end of Jesus: John the Baptist was his old cousin, his master and the man who announced and baptised Jesus. John the Evangelist was the youngest and most beloved of the apostles, the one who Jesus put in care of his mother.
Beginning and end: not a coincidence that Saints John festivities are celebrated in summer and winter solstices.

What are the solstices ?
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole. The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun’s path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop before reversing direction. In many cultures the solstices mark either the beginning or the midpoint of winter and summer.
The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date when this occurs. The day of the solstice is either the “longest day of the year” (cancer solstice, in summer) or the “shortest day of the year” (capricorn solstice, in winter) for the North Hemisphere.
What solstices symbolize in Freemasonry
Winter solstice (December 27) is the shortest day of the year. Days begin to grow, and nights become shorter and shorter. In a metaphoric way, with winter solstice begins the resurrection of the nature. Pagan cultures celebrated the “Sol Invictus” (undefeated sun) festivity in the winter solstice: on this day begins the victory of the light over the shadow.
Summer solstice (June 21) is the longest day of the year. Nights begin to grow, and days become shorter and shorter. In a metaphoric way, with winter solstice begins the decline of the world: the victory of the shadows over the light begins.
Both of solstices are considered by pagan cultures as doors between Heaven ad Earth. Winter solstice was the door that Gods used to enter the human world, and summer solstice was the door souls used to enter Heaven. For Egyptians, Hermes was the winter solstice doorkeeper, and Anubis was the summer solstice one. For the Romans, Janus, the god with two faces, was the keeper of both (January, the month, was named after him).

Why are  the  two Saints John and solstices related?
In classic mythology, Janus, as solstices doorkeeper, was always depicted with a bunch of keys in his hand. This symbolic attribute is transferred to Saint Peter, as Heaven doors keeper, when Rome becomes christian. However, the role of solstice keepers pass to Saints John, probably because their name (Janus and John are close) and their role in Jesus life:
–John the Evangelist, the beloved disciple, keeps and spreads Jesus words after his death. He is like the seed under the winter soil, ready to sprout. When Jesus death put everyone in despair, the light of his words begins to beat the shadows, exactly as in winter solstice. In christian tradition, John the Evangelist represents man’s praise to God (from men to God, from down to up, from shadow to light, as in the winter solstice).
–John the Baptist, who announced Christ, purifying Him with the water of baptism in His best age (30 years old, the begin of maturity), starts in some way his path to martyrdom and death. In christian tradition, John the Baptist represent God’s mercy (from God to men, from up to down, from light to shadow as in the summer solstice).

The well know masonic symbol of the point within a circle has, as any symbol, many interpretations. Let’s explain four of them: the first is moral, the second one talks about the Lodge, the third one is astronomical and the last one religious. Let’s see them in the next table:

Article by Miguel Salas Diaz – From : Freemason.org.tw

Bibliography

–GUENON, René, Acerca de los dos San Juan.
 –ROBERTS, Allen E., The Craft and Its Symbols: Opening the Door to Masonic Symbolism
 http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ward
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Evangelist
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice