In the Orthodox Church, St. John holds a special position of honor among the Saints second to that of the Theotokos alone. Did you know in every Orthodox Church, you will find an icon of St John to the right of Jesus on the Iconostasis (Icon wall in the front of the Church)? He’s a pretty important guy! St John has 6 feast days throughout the year, so I wanted to share a fun and EASY way to celebrate the Feast of St John the Baptist with your kids!

We know from the Bible that St. John lived in the wilderness, preaching repentance, preparing the people’s hearts to receive Him and paving the way for our Lord’s ministry. Did you know what he ate while in the wilderness…. ? Locust and honey! For his feast day, we made some yummy crescent rolls to look like locust, and topped them with honey!

🥐 Locust & Honey Crescent Rolls 🥐

Ingredients
1 Can of Crescent Rolls
Pretzel Sticks
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Butter
A Little Bit of Honey, some sugar
Mini chocolate chips!
Some parchment paper

Directions:
Start by rolling out the crescent rolls, then melt your butter and add cinnamon. Spread over the open rolls, sprinkle with chocolate chips and a little bit of sugar. Next we roll up our crescents and give them their little chocolate chip eyes and brushed each one with honey. Bake following the crescent roll instructions, and then add the locust’s little pretzel legs!
Enjoy!

Recipe by @corinne.ashleyy

Scroll down for more photos and step by step instructions!

Gather ingredients

Start by rolling out the crescent rolls. We left them in rectangular shapes to make adding ingredients easier.

Then in a separate bowl, melt your butter in the microwave and add cinnamon. Spread it over the open rolls.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and a little bit of sugar

Add a small dollop of honey to the top

Next we roll up our crescents and give them their little chocolate chip eyes. We used mini chocolate chips! Bake according to package directions

To make the back legs for the locust, dip pretzels in melted chocolate (just the tips) *We used chocolate chips and melted them in the microwave for 1 minute. Lay two sticks on top of one another in an “L” shape. We put them on parchment paper but you can use a plate as well. Stick them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden.

Here’s a closer look!

After they are baked and cooled slightly, put two straight pretzels as front legs, and 2 bent legs on the back as the back legs. ENJOY!

Special thanks to friend @corinne.ashleyy who adapted this recipe and helped me put this together! The kids really had a lot of fun!

I read the story from Potimitis Publishing “St John the Forerunner” and Corrine’s husband Danny (@corinne.ashleyy) played the role of St John the Baptist! He was such a good sport and the kids loved the fun re-enactment! Thank God for Orthodox friends who love teaching their kids the lives of the Saints as much as we do!

Did You Know?

Did you ever wonder why St John was in the wilderness? We see from the Scriptures that St John is born and it says “[St John} grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.” But there’s a gap between his birth and his ministry in adulthood. We know more about what happened to him in those early years through Holy Tradition, which has preserved his story. According to Tradition, after the birth of Jesus, the wicked king Herod gave orders to kill all male infants. Hearing about this, St Elizabeth (St John’s mother) fled into the wilderness and hid in a cave. St Zachariah (John’s father) was in Jerusalem and was doing his priestly service in the Temple. Herod sent soldiers to him to find the whereabouts of his infant John and his mother. Zachariah answered he didn’t know their whereabouts, and he was killed right there in the Temple. Righteous Elizabeth continued to live in the wilderness with her son and she died there. The child John, protected by an angel, dwelt in the wilderness until the time when he came preaching repentance, and was accounted worthy to baptize the Lord.

Other Resources for St John the Baptist:

Music :

“Guess Who?” (St John the Baptist) By Gigi Baba - Check out this FREE song on Youtube. This song is a fun way for kids to learn more about St John the Baptist. It tells his story from his mission (preach repentance) to his martyrdom. We love Gigi Baba Shadid! She is an Orthodox Priest wife and she creates very catchy music for kids to help them learn about our faith. You can find all of her CDs available for purchase HERE would be a good one to start with. You can also find this song on Spotify.
Print the words for Guess Who? Right HERE! Having the words is great for readers to be able to sing along more easily. Special thanks to Gigi for sharing this with us!

Book Recommendations :

(Pictured) Potimitis Publishing “St John the Forerunner” (only $4 and free shipping)

For Biblical Stories, we love to read them out of our Children’s Bible Reader:
- Elizabeth and Zechariah (The Children's Bible Reader, Pages 162 - 163)
- Mary Visits Elizabeth (The Children's Bible Reader, Pages 166)
- The Birth of John (The Children's Bible Reader, Pages 167 -168)

Happy Feasting!

-Khouria Destinie