Candlemas: The Festival of Light and Purification

By Robert Newland.

The 2nd February has long been held in the Christian calendar as “The Feast Of Our Lady, The Blessed Virgin Mary” otherwise known as Candelora or Candlemas. It derived from the ceremony which the Church of Rome dictates to be observed on this day; namely the blessing of candles by the clergy and their distribution to mothers who had borne children during the previous year, whom afterwards process around the church in solemn procession. The ceremony commemorates when the Virgin Mary, in obedience to Jewish law, went to the Temple of Jerusalem, both to be purified and to present the Christ Child, “The Light of the World” to God as her firstborn.

There is some debate as to when exactly the ceremony was first established, though by the Middle Ages it was performed throughout Christendom. After the Reformation during the reign of Edward VI the practice of consecrating candles was forbidden, yet in spite of disapproving reformers the much-loved ceremony continued. Even the repressive Puritans who condemned all such customs as “Popish” could not obliterate it either.

However, the word “Purification” carries in its original meaning the idea of cleansing by fire, rather than Jesus Christ being the Spiritual Light and therefore the origins of Candlemas predate Christianity and lie in the pagan Roman festival of FEBRUALIA, and the ancient Celtic festival of IMBOLGC, pronounced as em-bowlg.

Februalia was the Roman festival of Purification, held on the 15th February in honour of Februa the goddess of purification, and mother of Mars; and after whom the month of February is named. The people of Rome celebrated the dedication of her temple on Palatine Hill with a nighttime procession of candles and blazing torches. It was considered an important time for pubescent girls and young women to observe purification rites and to be cleansed by the “Laying of the Lash.” Priests called Luberci would in a state of nudity ceremoniously lash the young ladies’ bare backsides, thus assuring them pure and fertile for the coming year.

There is a legend of Sabine origin that explains this curious rite. The legend states that after the rape of the Sabine women, the raped wives were left sterile. The men and women then went to pray for a cure in a forest consecrated to Februa. Her voice sounded in the rustling leaves, replying that the women must be joined with a sacred goat. However, the people were dismayed at the thought of such a joining and would not do it. An Etruscan soothsayer solved the dilemma by sacrificing a goat to Februa and making a thick leather strap from its hide. He ordered the young women to offer themselves to the blows of the strap. The women complied with the dictates of the goddess and thereby overcame the infertility curse.

Imbolgc, meaning “ewes milk” was the festival held on 2nd February and heralded the start of the lambing season. Celtic people saw it as a time of hope and new beginnings. They believed the young goddess Bride of youth and fertility whom was held captive each year by the winter, was released or re-born at Imbolgc. Huge fires were lit in celebration to summon the return of light and new birth, which followed in Bride’s footsteps.

Over time these two ancient festivals somewhat emerged together but when Christianity became established, the church, in order to convert the heathens took advantage of the old pagan festivals and adopted them into the Christian calendar thus replacing the old goddesses with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Christian worship grew and eventually became the dominant religion it is today, but the distant memories of the old festivals lingered and became incorporated into folklore customs.

Candlemas became a time for family gatherings at which a specially large candle would be lit at sunset, around it all present would gather and feast in celebration of the returning daylight until the candle’s self extinguishing brought the festivities to a close.

Candle leaping as a form of fortune telling was also practised at Candlemas, which possibly engendered this rhyme.

Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack jumped over
The candlestick.

A candlestick with a lighted candle was placed on the floor and if, when jumping over it, the light was not extinguished, good luck was supposed to follow during the coming year.

In some farming communities the custom of setting up what was known as a “Bride’s Bed” was practised. A sheaf of barley or corn that had been left over from the last harvest was dressed up in a young girls white smock to symbolise a virgin, and was put to bed as it were in a large wicker basket with a wooden club to symbolise male fertility, and the Bride’s Bed was placed by the threshold. Once in place the occupants of the house would call a welcome three times into the darkness outside. “Bride is welcome, Bride is come.” The next morning the ashes of the hearth were examined. If there were signs of disturbance it showed that Bride had been, and this was seen as a good omen for a prosperous harvest, but no disturbance was seen as the opposite.

Candlemas has also long been a time for weather predictions so as to discover if the winter was passed or whether it was going to persist until the spring equinox.

One old Dorset rhyme John Symonds Udal quotes:

“If Candlemas Day be fair and fine,
Half the Winter is left behin’.
If Candlemas Day do bluster and blow,
The winter is o’er, as all good people do know.”

Copyright Robert Newland - Dark Dorset Calendar Customs 2007