The Minister writes… from our February 2025 newsletter

Dear friends,

As I write this, there is a house in our road which is still festooned with Christmas lights and decorations. It looks bright and cheerful on a grey January day but also a little odd among a street of houses whose decorations were packed away by the 6th January. It would be tempting to think this is someone who really loves Christmas and can’t bear to see it end but it may be that they are awaiting the Christian festival of Candlemas before taking them down. This occurs on the 2nd February and marks the 40th day of Christmas (counting from Christmas Day) and in the old traditions this would be when the season of Christmas finally came to an end.

It is the day when we remember Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the Temple to be blessed by the elderly priest Simeon as recounted in Luke 2: 22 – 40. The presentation of Jesus coincided with the end of Mary’s ritual purification so the day is also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. Candlemas is a festival still observed in Catholic and Anglican churches (not so much in Methodism) but there are some lovely customs associated with it and I thought you might like to read about those – or be reminded of them.

Candlemas is when traditionally all the church candles for the coming year were blessed (hence its name). Candles are noted as a symbol of Jesus whereby the beeswax symbolises his purity, the wick symbolises his soul and the flame symbolises his divinity but of course, above all, for us they are a vivid reminder of Jesus as the Light of the world.

Snowdrops are the flower associated with this feast day and are sometimes called Candlemas Bells :

The snowdrop in purest white array, first rears its head on Candlemas Day.’

 Another rhyme reflects the old beliefs about Candlemas Day forecasting what to expect weather-wise:

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another fight. 

If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter won’t come again.”

As is the case with some other Christian festivals, Candlemas has its roots in paganism. When Christianity came to Britain it was easier to keep the dates (and often the associated traditions) and ‘Christianise’ them rather than try to eradicate them – a process called syncretism. The two best-known instances of this are Christmas and All Souls/ All Saints. Since no one knows exactly when Jesus was born, it made sense to the Romans, who brought Christianity to Britain, to take over the pagan celebration of Saturnalia which celebrated the returning of the sun around the time of the winter solstice. Similarly, we commemorate All Souls and All Saints Days when the ancient Celts would have celebrated Samhain.

So it is with the date of Candlemas. February 2nd is halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It was a time for rejoicing that the days were getting longer and the light was returning. Both the celebration of light and the period of 40 days since Christmas made it the perfect date for Candlemas. So we Christians ‘purloined’ it in the 5th century!

As well as blessing the candles, another tradition associated with Candlemas is to place a lit candle in your window on Candlemas night. Maybe that is something you might like to do on the evening of Sunday 2nd February as a reminder of Jesus, the Light of the world? You might also like to say the words for the blessing of the candles as you do so:

God our Father, whose Son was revealed to Simeon as the light of the nations, and the glory of Israel, let these candles be to us a sign of his light and presence, that, guided by the Holy Spirit, we may live by the light of faith until we come to the light of glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

 

With every blessing – at Candlemas and always,

Sharon