What is Candlemas Day?

“If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, Winter will take another flight; If Candlemas Day be foul and rain, Winter is gone and won’t come again.” This saying, dating back hundreds of years, refers to Candlemas, a religious celebration held on February 2nd. But wait, isn’t February 2nd Groundhog Day? Yes, Groundhog Day does occur on February 2nd; it is an ages-old tradition that was brought to America by early European immigrants. The superstition, at least in the United States, is if the groundhog sees his shadow on a sunny February 2nd, winter will last at least six more weeks. But if the day is cloudy so that no shadow appears, winter will soon be over. This sounds somewhat similar to the saying about Candlemas Day, doesn’t it?

Many cultures developed weather superstitions surrounding February 2nd. The German tradition involves a badger who sees his shadow. Germans brought the tradition of a February 2nd observance of “Badger Day” when they immigrated to America; the tradition eventually became “Groundhog Day.”

But why is the second day of February important in weather prognostications? February 2nd, in the Northern Hemisphere, falls midway between the winter solstice and the Spring Equinox. It signifies the gradual return of sunlight to the Northern Hemisphere and the approach of spring. Especially in northern European countries, where there is little sunlight during the long, cold winter, the promise of the light and warmth of spring is cause for hope. But those hopes could be dashed if the weather on the second day of February portended an even longer winter.

So, what does Candlemas have to do with Groundhog Day? Candlemas is the celebration, in the Western Church, of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. It occurs 40 days after Christmas. In Jewish tradition, a woman was required to go to the temple 40 days after giving birth and offer animals to be sacrificed as a purification ritual. We read in Luke’s Gospel that Mary and Joseph sacrificed “a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24 NRSV).

Mosaic Law also stipulated that, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:23 NRSV). In Luke’s Gospel, we learn that Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord. While the Holy Family was in the temple, a devout and holy man named Simeon was led by the Spirit to enter the temple. When he saw the baby Jesus, Simeon took the infant in his arms, blessed God, and said:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

(Luke 2: 28-32 KJV)

Simeon may have been thinking of Isaiah’s prophesy, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2 NRSV). The people of Israel had been waiting for centuries for God’s light to brighten their lives. John the Evangelist tells us that Jesus was that light. “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9 NRSV). Simeon understood that Christ’s light was meant, not only for the “glory of Israel,” but to enlighten the Gentiles, non-Jewish people—all people everywhere.

During Advent, the liturgical season that includes the four weeks before Christmas, we wait for the light to enter the world. During the Christmas Season (Christmas Day and the twelve days that follow), we celebrate the coming of the light into the world. And on Epiphany, we celebrate the sharing of the light with the Gentiles, as exemplified by the Magi who traveled from afar to trace the light of the star to its source: “the true light, which enlightens everyone.”

So, why is February 2nd sometimes called Candlemas? What does all this have to do with candles, anyway? The origins of the celebration date back to the time of the Roman Empire, when a pagan ritual at this time of year involved processions of people carrying candles, probably as a ritual of dispelling the darkness of the long winter. Rather than suppress the practice, the early Church fathers incorporated the blessing of candles into the Feast of the Presentation, or as some call it, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Priests began to bless the candles that provided light for their services. In medieval times, people brought their household candles to the church on Candlemas to be blessed for the coming year. There also were candlelight processions on Candlemas Eve as part of the celebration of the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.

I think it is especially appropriate that a feast celebrating light comes at a time when we welcome the approaching light of Spring to our hemisphere, with the promise of being able to plant crops and enjoy longer days and warmer weather. On Candlemas, we celebrate the Light of Christ that came to dispel our darkness, and we especially remember Simeon’s words that Jesus was to be “a light to enlighten the Gentiles.”

We Christians are called to share Christ’s light. We are not to hide it under a bushel, as we sing in “This Little Light of Mine.” We are to let Christ’s light shine so that it may brighten people’s lives, especially the lives of those who sit in darkness. We are called, in the words of Matthew 5:16, to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (KJV). So, no matter whether Candlemas Day is ‘fair and bright’ or ‘foul and rain,’ may we all share the love of Christ and let our lights shine, shine, shine!

By the Rev. Peggy Hotchkiss, Ed.D.

St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church