By Christina Hermoso Monday is the Feast of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist (San Juan de Bautista), one of only two saints, the other one being the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose birth anniversary is commemorated by the Roman Catholic Church. Saint John the Baptist (Wikimedia Commons / MANILA BULLETIN) Holy Masses will be celebrated by the hour from 5 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., and at 12 noon, 5:30 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and at 8:30 p.m. at the St. John the Baptist Parish (Pinaglabanan Church) in San Juan City in commemoration of the feast day of its patron. Early Monday, the feast will be marked with the traditional dousing of water along the streets of San Juan, reminiscent of the baptism performed by St. John at the Jordan River. A commemorative mass will also be celebrated at the St. John the Baptist Parish (Quiapo Church) in Manila at 12:15 p.m. Novena masses were held from June 15 to June 23. In other parts of the country, the “Parada ng Lechon” will be held in Balayan, Batangas, in celebration of the feast. Before the parade, the roasted pigs, all decorated and dressed, will be blessed in St. John’s name after the fiesta mass at the Immaculate Conception Parish. In Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, the “Taong Putik” Festival will be celebrated. Popularly known among the locals as “pagsa-San Juan,” participants in the parade traditionally cover themselves with mud and adorn their bodies with vines and leaves as inspired by St. John’s attire during his time. Celebrated since the year 506, making it one of the oldest feasts in the Church calendar, St. John’s other feast day is on Aug. 29, which is the Feast of his Beheading.