The Light Of The World: Candlemass Day

The celebration of Candlemass Day on February 2^nd is an obscure holy day relative to the mainstream Catholic observances of Christmas, Easter, The Solemnity of Mary, or the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, Candlemass (or Candlemas Day as it is referred to by the Eastern churches) is an important date on the Christian calendar because it marks two important events: The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, and The Purification of Saint Mary The Virgin.

Candlemass marks the 40^th day after Christmas where, under Jewish custom, Mary and Joseph would bring Jesus to the temple for consecration. This event is more widely known by Catholics as The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which is the Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary.

Furthermore, the Jewish law, or Mosaic law, as it was known at that time required that a woman purify herself for a forty day period following childbirth and then present herself to the priest at the temple while offering a sacrifice. This is the origin behind the Catholic observance of the The Purification of Saint Mary The Virgin during this same feast. The Gospel of Luke tells us that since Joseph and Mary did not have enough money for a lamb for the sacrifice, they took the option available at that time for those with limited financial means, and offered two turtledoves as a sacrifice.

This event is also where the Holy Family encounters Simeon and Anna in the temple. The Gospels tell us that Simeon was promised by God that he would not die until he met the Christ, the Messiah who would come to save the world. His powerful exhortation to God upon meeting Jesus, essentially exclaiming that God could take his life because he had seen the Savior coupled with his haunting prediction to the Virgin Mary of a “sword will pierce through your soul” are profound images for many Catholics when they reflect upon this Mystery of the Holy Rosary. Anna was a prophetess, who after her husband had died, spent all of her time in the temple worshiping God awaiting the Christ. She gave praise to the infant Jesus and spoke to everyone there proclaiming the role that Jesus would play in redeeming Israel.

Origins of the Feast Day

The Catholic Church began the celebration of Candlemass Day in the 5^th century to offer praise for God’s glory achieved through Christ. The ceremonial rituals observed include a procession of lit candles representing Jesus as the Light of the World. A blessing of candles is also involved in the ceremony, to which the feast day derives its’ name.

In the Western world, February 2^nd is also known as Groundhog Day, which signifies the coming of Spring and the period in the liturgical calendar of the start of the weeks leading up to Easter. It is the bridge between the end of the Christmas season and the preparations for the beginning of the Lenten season.

In some countries, people will leave their Christmas decorations up through the Epiphany and all the way through Candlemass Day on February 2^nd. Their belief being that the Christmas season officially concludes with the Presentation of the Lord which is the end of the accounts of Jesus in the Gospels until the account of Mary and Joseph losing him in the caravan out of Jerusalem. That event, of course, would become known as the Finding of Jesus in the Temple.

The celebration of Candlemass, also known as Candlemas or Candelaria in other religious sects, is one of the few holy days on the calendar outside of the major holy days mentioned earlier, which is celebrated universally across the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, and other Eastern Rites.

I learned of this holy day in the same way I learned about most of my faith, from my mother. My mother taught me about the Presentation of the Lord when I learned how to pray the Holy Rosary under her direction. She also took me to Mass on that holy day so that I could observe the rituals and the procession of the candles. My mother taught me about Christ being the Light of the World and what that truly meant, how Jesus had come to save us all, that he knew us all by name. My Mom taught me that Jesus had come down from Heaven to save us from sin and death, as a boy, this was a powerful message, a message that solidified my faith.

In fact, on a lighter note, I remember my Mom telling me about Candlemass Day in the context of taking down our Christmas tree and associated decorations. She would usually keep them up until the Epiphany, but she would say sometimes that she wished she could keep them up until Candlemass like some people in other parts of the world.

The final major reference to Candlemass Day that I reflected upon recently is in one of the Doxology sequences after the Litany of Loreto. On a personal note, I try to pray the Litany of Loreto to Our Blessed Mother daily, usually at Noon time when I pray The Angelus as well. I was out one day during Advent and so I pulled up the Litany of Loreto on my smart phone’s internet browser from the EWTN website. I noticed that they had listed at the end of the prayer a few different Doxology sequences that I had not seen before, and one of them was to be prayed from after Christmas Day until Candlemass. That Doxology is as follows:

Thou gavest birth without loss of thy virginity.
Intercede for us, O holy Mother of God.

Let us pray. O God, Who by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary hast offered unto the human race the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech thee, that we may know the effects of her intercession, through whom we have deserved to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son. R. Amen.

I wish you all a Happy New Year, and I hope you will keep these reflections in mind on February 2^nd when the Church celebrates Candlemass. I wish you all a blessed Christmas season as we welcome in Jesus Christ as the Light of the World.