February 2, 2024
Happy Vernal Equinox! (the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox)
Happy St. Brigid’s Day! (Originally known as a Celtic fire goddess, Brigid also was embraced by the early church and canonized as a saint)
Happy Groundhog Day! (a decidedly American holiday)
Those are just a few of the global celebrations and feasts on this date. For us in the Episcopal Church, today we can also say Blessed Candlemas! and whatever the appropriate greeting is for the The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. "Hey, it's Presentation Day!"?
What is Candlemas? In the early Christian tradition, Feb. 2 was the date that all of the candles that would be used in churches during the coming year were blessed. During the Middle Ages, this observance grew in popularity even outside the walls of the church and Candlemas became a secular festival of lights. One source writes:
During the dark and gloomy February, the shadowy recesses of medieval churches twinkled brightly as a procession of the congregation carried lit candles around the church and the candles were blessed by the priest. The parishioners took these candles home, where they were thought to be talismans to ward off storms, demons and other evils. The custom lasted in England until the Reformation when it was banned as promoting veneration of magical objects. Even so, the symbol of lighted candles was too ingrained in popular culture to be entirely cast aside. In many areas of Great Britain, traces of the festival lingered until recently.
And The Presentation of Jesus? The Presentation is the day Mary and Joseph brought 40 day old Jesus to the Temple to be presented to God. The story in the Gospel of Luke contains one of, in my opinion, the most beautiful and most haunting passages in all of Scripture, spoken by Simeon as he saw and recognized Jesus as Messiah (ahh, there's our Epiphany theme again!):
And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed-- and a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Feb. 2 is a sacred day in many traditions, for many reasons. My prayer for you is to find something sacred about this time as well. My prayer for you for this week is for light to shine upon you, for Jesus to present himself to you, in whatever form that takes. And we might as well throw in blessings from St. Brigid, and a continued easy winter blessing from that groundhog, as well!