Name for a wine consecrated in church on 27 December, the name day of the apostle John. Tradition equates the apostle John with the evangelist John, but according to research, the apostle and favourite disciple of Jesus, the evangelist and the author of the Apocalypse are mostly distinguished into three different persons. This fourth Christmas holiday, originally celebrated until the 17th century, is therefore also known as "Winter John" or "Winter John", in contrast to the "John's Day" celebrated in honour of John the Baptist on 24 June in summer. The faithful bring a few bottles of wine to the service, which are blessed. After Mass, the priest hands the faithful some of the blessed wine with the words: "Drink the love of St John". For this reason it is also called "St John's Minne" (Minne = Middle High German for "love").
The custom of...
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