February 2: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
| It is a rare privilige when the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord occurs on a Sunday. This day also is known as the Feast of the Purification as well as ?Candlemas Day.?
The Feast of the Presentation occurs forty days after Christmas. It is in today’s gospel where we see the infant Jesus presented in the temple and the Holy Family’s encounters with Simeon and Anna. This feast has been observed since the fourth century in Jerusalem. This day also is known as the Feast of the Purificaiton because we celebrate Mary’s return to the Temple. According to the Mosaic law, mothers who had given birth were considered unclean after the birth of a child and were not permitted to enter the Temple to worship. This was 40 days after the birth of a son and 60 days after the birth of a daughter. At the end of the 40 or 60 days, the mother was brought to the Temple or synagogue and ritually purified. The mother was to “bring to the temple a lamb for a holocaust and a young pigeon or turtle dove for sin”; if she was not able to offer a lamb, she was to take two turtle doves or two pigeons; the priest prayed for her and so she was cleansed. (Leviticus 12:2-8) Now she can go to religious services again, and generally go out in public. So we celebrate the ritual Purification of the Virgin Mary, the specified forty days after she gave birth to Jesus. Do you remember the practice of “churching women,” which was popular until the late 1960’s? This rite of blessing for new mothers which evolved into a time of prayerful thanksgiving, originally had its beginnings in this ancient Jewish purification rite. February 2nd also is known as Candlemass (“Candle Mass”) because on this day, the supply of candles for the church were blessed. By the middle of the 5th century, candles were lit on this day to symbolize that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The ritual for today calls for the blessing of candles. |
Astronomically speaking, Candlemas is a cross quarter day, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Many northern European pagans celebrated in various ways on the quarter days and cross quarter days. The early Christians made a big celebration out of Candlemas which gave new Christian converts something else to do when they might otherwise have been tempted to backslide. This is a very old tradition. (For example, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th because the early Roman Church wanted its flock to have something else to do during the pagan celebration of Saturnalia.) Aside from the fact that Candlemas has its place on the Christian calendar, the timing of Candlemas also has secular roots. What does Candlemas have to do with Groundhog’s Day? As we said, February 2 is 40 days after Christmas. Scientifically or mathematically speaking, it marks the day that winter is half over! This winter milestone was marked by the the Teutons, or Germans, who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather, which they interpolated as the length of the “Second Winter.” When German immigrants came to America, they could not find a hedgehog, but rather the groundhog. From its partially pagan roots, next week’s feast nonetheless gives us another opportunity to celebrate Jesus, manifested as “Light of the World.” How can you celebrate? • Burn some candles at home (kids, let your parents help, and for everyone, keep in mind all the fire safety you have been taught!) |
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