Christian Holidays · Epiphany and after
Candlemas
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, forty days after Christmas, when candles are blessed.
When: 2 February
Origin and history
Candlemas, also called the Feast of the Presentation, remembers the day, described in the Gospel of Luke, when Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem. There the old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognised him. Candles became part of the feast as a symbol of Jesus, whom Christians call the Light of the World. Falling on 2 February, the fortieth day after Christmas, it closes the Christmas and Epiphany season. It is one of the oldest feasts of the church: the pilgrim Egeria described its celebration in Jerusalem in the 380s.
Customs
- Many Christians, especially Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans and Anglicans, bring candles to church to be blessed for use through the year.
- In some countries Christmas decorations stay up until Candlemas rather than Twelfth Night.
- German weather lore about an animal's shadow on Candlemas was brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers and became the American Groundhog Day.
How traditions differ
Eastern churches call it the Feast of the Holy Encounter, the meeting of Christ with Simeon. Western churches have also called it the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the library
Works: The Bible
More in Epiphany and after
Sources checked: Candlemas (Wikipedia).