Candlemas

A candlelight service of
Music, Readings, Responses and Prayers

Sunday, February 4, 2024 at 5 p.m. in the Nave

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2), known popularly as Candlemas, commemorates the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the presentation of Christ in the temple, which took place 40 days after his birth as Jewish law required. Once in the temple, Jesus was purified by the prayer of Simeon in the presence of Anna the prophetess. Simeon, upon seeing the Messiah, gave thanks to the Lord, singing a hymn now called the Nunc Dimittis:

Candlemas Day was also the day when some cultures predicted weather patterns. Farmers believed that the remainder of winter would be the opposite of the weather on Candlemas Day. As an old English song goes:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go winter, and come not again.

So if the sun cast a shadow on Candlemas day, more winter was on the way; if there was no shadow, winter was thought to be ending soon. This practice led to the folklore behind “Groundhog’s Day, which falls on Candlemas Day.