HTML semanctics Can elements come before heading tag in sectioning element?

Question

Any HTML master out there please give me a GO.

Usually in sectioning element like section or article, header or h1 ~ h6 tags stay prior to any element like following:

<section>
<header><h1>TITLE BLAH</h1></header>
<div>blah blah blah</div>
...
</section>

Can I just switch this order like this just for the sake of layout?

<section>
<div>blah blah blah</div>
...
<header><h1>TITLE BLAH</h1></header>
</section>

I know it doesn't make sense if this were the actual book.

I am stuck now...

Answer 1

Yes. The header is what it contains and not where it's placed in the structure. http://developers.whatwg.org/sections.html#the-header-element

The header element represents a group of introductory or navigational aids.

A header element is intended to usually contain the section's heading (an h1–h6 element or an hgroup element), but this is not required. The header element can also be used to wrap a section's table of contents, a search form, or any relevant logos.