St. John Day - 24 June

This is the First time, I had many messages from my fellow comrades from St. John Ambulance wishing me Happy St. John's Day. But I believe many don't really know why we celebrate St. John's Day.

Some people think St. John's Day is organized because of Flag Day. Anyway, I think it is time, I wish to clear the misconception. St. John is the patron saint of St. John Ambulance and this how it got it's name. Below is some info about our patron saint.

St. John the Baptist
Feastday: June 24

St. John the Baptist

John the Baptist was the son of Zachary, a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, and Elizabeth, a kinswoman of Mary who visited her. He was probably born at Ain-Karim southwest of Jerusalem after the Angel Gabriel had told Zachary that his wife would bear a child even though she was an old woman. He lived as a hermit in the desert of Judea until about A.D. 27. When he was thirty, he began to preach on the banks of the Jordan against the evils of the times and called men to penance and baptism "for the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand". He attracted large crowds, and when Christ came to him, John recognized Him as the Messiah and baptized Him, saying, "It is I who need baptism from You". When Christ left to preach in Galilee, John continued preaching in the Jordan valley. Fearful of his great power with the people, Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Perea and Galilee, had him arrested and imprisoned at Machaerus Fortress on the Dead Sea when John denounced his adultrous and incestuous marriage with Herodias, wife of his half brother Philip. John was beheaded at the request of Salome, daughter of Herodias, who asked for his head at the instigation of her mother. John inspired many of his followers to follow Christ when he designated Him "the Lamb of God," among them Andrew and John, who came to know Christ through John's preaching. John is presented in the New Testament as the last of the Old Testament prophets and the precursor of the Messiah. His feast day is June 24th and the feast for his beheading is August 29th.

Courtesy of : http://www.catholic.org

Flag Day is one of the many activities which we The St. John Ambulance organize. Apart from that we also organize at the Area / State Levels community service activities such as Blood Donation Drives, Mass CPR Program, Exhibitions, Cadet Enrollment Ceremony etc.

I know I am very late in writing this info but St. John Day is celebrated for one whole month until 24 July. On St. John which was on 24 June normally members in school will raise the St. John Flag and will be in Full Uniform. You can even organize First Aid Awareness Campaigns , Health Awareness Campaigns, etc. for the teachers and students in your school.

We have served and existed in Malaysia for 101 years for the Service of Mankind. Let us continue to serve and do more for the society.

Happy St. John's Day my dear friends - First in First Aid

Service First, Performance Now