The beginning of February is an important time both in the church year and in traditional calendars.

Biblical Foundations

In the church year, February 2 is the Feast of Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple or the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. According to Leviticus 12, when a woman bore a son, he would be circumcised on the eighth day; she would be unclean for 33 days, with the first of these days being the day of the circumcision. At that point, she would bring a burnt offering and sin offering to the Temple. With Christ’s birth celebrated on December 25 and the circumcision on January 1, February 2 would be the 33^rd day.

At the presentation in the Temple, Mary and Joseph met Simeon and Anna and received the prophecies recounted in Luke 2:22-40.

Candlemas

In some traditions such as Tudor England, Candlemas marked the end of the 40-day Christmas/Epiphany season. More often, after Epiphany, the church enters the first period of Ordinary Time focusing on the life of Christ between Epiphany and Lent, and Candlemas is simply a Feast occurring during this time.

The name Candlemas comes from the practice of bringing candles to the church to be blessed on this date. The candles, which are intended to represent Christ as the Light of the World, would then be used for the rest of the year. The origin of this practice probably comes from the connection between Candlemas and the traditional agricultural calendar.

Spring in the Agricultural Calendar

February 1 is approximately midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. As such, it was seen as the beginning of spring. (The solstices and equinoxes were understood as the midpoints of the seasons, so the winter solstice was called midwinter and the Summer solstice midsummer.) In Celtic countries, this date was known as Imbolc and was the Feast Day of St. Brigid. It was associated with lambing and the milking of ewes, an important event, given the depletion of food stores over the winter.

Candlemas Traditions

Candlemas also had connections to the beginning of spring. While blessing candles was pretty much universal, at least in Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist territories, other practices varied tremendously by region. For example, in France, Belgium, and parts of Switzerland, it is customary to put away Christmas crèches on Candlemas and to eat crêpes. Tradition dates the practice back to Pope Gelasius I (r.492-496), who is said to have distributed pancakes to pilgrims visiting Rome. It may also relate to the fact that the crêpes are round and golden in color and so symbolize the returning sun.

Oddly, in several regions, Candlemas was associated with bears. Everyone knew that bears came out of hibernation in spring, so it was assumed that they would emerge on Candlemas. In Hungary, it was believed that when the bears emerged, if it was sunny, they would see their shadow and be frightened. They would then return to sleep in their dens, and winter would be extended. If it was cloudy and they did not see their shadow, spring was at hand.

It’s no accident that Groundhog Day is the same as Candlemas.

Interestingly, Catalonia has a proverb that suggests something very similar about the weather: “If Candlemas cries, winter is gone; if Candlemas laughs, winter is alive.” There may in fact be something to these traditions. If it’s cloudy, it may indicate that the winter weather patterns are changing, meaning spring is on its way. If it’s sunny, the weather patterns may not be changing, and so winter will be prolonged.

Why We Should Remember the Holiday

Candlemas isn’t one of the better-known feasts of the church year, but it is one worth remembering since it does commemorate an event from the Gospel of Luke that connects us again to the mystery and celebration of the Incarnation. And it also reminds us of the extent that our modern technological world has disconnected us from the world of our ancestors and from the cycles of nature.

While we can’t turn back the clock (or the calendar) to return to this earlier way of experiencing the world, there is much to be said for supplementing our modern way of marking time with a recovery of sacred time via the church calendar and even its more obscure holidays, and being aware of the traditional calendar can be a reminder to pay more attention to the world around us. The Creation and its cycles continue to speak of its Creator, and we can learn much from them if we learn to look and listen.