Amassing Candles and Hogging Ground

[vovat]

Happy Candlemas, everybody! While this holiday (also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple to people who like their holidays to have long names) is really only celebrated by Anglicans/Episcopalians and Eastern Orthodox Christians nowadays, it was more significant in the Middle Ages. It is held forty days after Christmas, because, under the Mosaic law, it's forty days after childbirth that a Jewish woman undergoes ritual purification. The name Candlemas comes from the purification of candles that a priest would perform during the feast day. It was apparently also the traditional day for taking down Christmas decorations, which probably wouldn't go over so well in the modern United States.

Candlemas was also used in England as an indicator of future weather, sort of like St. Swithin's Day and other such days. Americans combined this idea with that of weather-forecasting animals to come up with Groundhog Day. So we come from the presentation of the baby Jesus to that of a rodent in just a few short steps. Isn't the evolution of holidays wonderful? {g}

Comments

[suegypt.livejournal.com]

Um, did they used to hold up the baby Jesus to see if he saw his shadow? If he did, did that mean his execution on Good Friday would come earlier that year?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

If Jesus was the light of the world, wouldn't he have ALWAYS had a shadow?

If he did, did that mean his execution on Good Friday would come earlier that year?

No, that always happens on the first Friday after the first full moon of spring, for some reason.

[dragonxbait.livejournal.com]

"ritual purification" meaning she's done bleeding and can have sex again? I love the things that are celebrated as religious holidays.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

"ritual purification" meaning she's done bleeding and can have sex again?

Yeah, pretty much. The Jews were all about purifying after natural processes, especially for women.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

It was apparently also the traditional day for taking down Christmas decorations,

Oh that's good, because even though mine have been down a few weeks, the boxes are still piled around all over the place. I get historical justification!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Just remember that leaving out holly and mistletoe after Candlemas will cause death. Not sure whether lights also fit into that category.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't have any holly or mistletoe to begin with. The only thing not boxed up is a very fake evergreen tree.

[i3uffalogirl.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! Thanks for the post.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.