Today brings Candlemas. It is the day that candles are blessed in the Church, with great processions of candles lit and born aloft, a light for the world. The day marks the purification of Mary at the temple, which is an old Jewish tradition following the birth of a child. Mary is renewed, just as the year is renewed, just as in the pagan tradition the old crone of winter is renewed and transformed into the young virgin of spring… for with Candlemas we shift our sights away from winter and ahead to spring. It was at that same temple that Mary met the elder Simeon, who proclaimed that Jesus would be the light of the world… and this is the basis for the blessing of candles on this day.
This day is perhaps the most well known weather marker of the year: Groundhog Day. Here in the US, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow as he crawls up out of his burrow, it’ll mean 40 days more of winter; if he sees no shadow, then it will be an early spring. This weather lore comes out of much older weather marking traditions related to the Second of February, but which all seem to offer the same wisdom––that a bright and sunny Candlemas Day means a longer winter, while a dark and cloudy one means welcome warmth will soon be on its way:
If the sun shines bright on Candlemas Day,
The half of the winter’s not yet away.
If we listen to the old groundhog, it looks like six more weeks of winter this year, for the news is that Punxsutawney Phil awoke and saw his shadow this morning upon leaving his burrow. Here in South Florida, it is our first year without Lantana Lou. Lantana is the next town south of where I live, and each year for the past ten years, we would watch for Lantana Lou to emerge out of the ocean to make his weather prediction. Lantana Lou is retired Lantana Town Council member Lou Cantor, and this year, Lou decided to retire from his annual Candlemas weather marker career, too. It was always the same prediction, anyway: six more weeks of gorgeous Florida weather.
On Candlemas, it is traditional to light every lamp in the house, even for just a few moments, at sunset. In Mexico, tradition today calls for tamales and hot chocolate. In Europe, it’s a big day for crepes. No matter what’s on your table this evening, one thing is for certain: the meal would be best accompanied by candlelight.