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February 2 is Candlemas
Candlemas is celebrated on February 2, a very ancient Christian holiday that is felt throughout Italy. The Eastern Church introduced it in the 7th century to celebrate the presentation of Jesus in the Temple forty days after his birth and the purification of the Virgin Mary.
It is no coincidence that the Latin word februarius “to purify” and refers to the fire festivals and purification rites in February. Many traditions are linked to this date from which the word ‘calendar’ derives. By looking at the sky, you can guess whether winter will last long or be short-lived. In fact, during this particular period, the Romans performed these rites to obtain luck and good harvests.
In the Catholic tradition, it involves blessing candles and candles in churches. Other beliefs linked to paganism see this date as a symbolic exit from the winter darkness towards the spring season.
Candlemas is a celebration to remember these rites. It takes on great charm and transmits strong emotions among the faithful who participate. Let’s discover it together!
In the West, the celebration takes on a Marian character, highlighting the mother’s purification compared to the redemption of the firstborn. For this reason, before the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, the feast took the name of “Purification of Mary.” The liturgical reform, however, gave centrality to Christ as the firstborn, making this celebration more Christological than Marian.
The day after Candlemas, February 3, is the day of San Biagio di Sebaste, and tradition dictates that the throat is blessed with candles the day before. This is because miracles involving a child in danger of suffocating on a fishbone have been attributed to the saint. For this reason, the saint is often represented with candles in iconography.
The celebration of Candlemas originates from a biblical foundation. According to the law of Moses (Ex 13, 2.11-16), every firstborn male of the Jewish people was considered offered to the Lord. For this reason, it was necessary to be redeemed after his birth by providing a sacrifice. According to the same law, regardless of whether the newborn was a firstborn or not, the woman was considered impure for 40 days in the case of a male child and 66 days in the case of a female child.
This ritual coincides with the one that happened at the birth of Jesus, in which, in the 40 days before the birth, the offering of the firstborn and the purification of the mother took place simultaneously.
Candlemas: history and origin
The celebration of Candlemas originates from a biblical foundation. According to the law of Moses (Ex 13, 2.11-16), every firstborn male of the Jewish people was considered offered to the Lord. For this reason, it was necessary to be redeemed after his birth by providing a sacrifice. According to the same law, regardless of whether the newborn was a firstborn or not, the woman was considered impure for 40 days in the case of a male child and 66 days in the case of a female child.
This ritual coincides with the one that happened at the birth of Jesus, in which, in the 40 days before the birth, the offering of the firstborn and the purification of the mother took place simultaneously.
As we find in the Gospel, according to Luke, Mary and Joseph respected this rite 40 days after the birth of Baby Jesus.
Initially, the festival was celebrated on February 14, or 40 days after the Epiphany. The first testimony of the festival comes to us from Egeria in her Peregrinatio. The name Candlemas, commonly used to indicate this occasion, seems to derive from the similarity of the skylight rite of which Egeria speaks: “All the lamps and candles are lit, thus making a very great light” (Peregrinatio Aetheriae 24, 4). This ancient Roman festival was celebrated in mid-February with ritual torchlight processions, already widespread in the Lupercalia.
But the similarities with pagan holidays are not only in the use of candles but also in the idea of purification. During Pope Gelasius I’s episcopate (492-496), the Senate granted the abolition of the pagan rites of Lupercalia, which were replaced by Candlemas. It was only in the 6th century that Justinian brought the anniversary forward to February 2.
What is celebrated
Beyond the legends, on this day, the Catholic Church celebrates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple 40 days after his birth. The Gospels speak of the pious and old Simeon, who waited all his life for the Messiah and would not die before seeing him. Moved by the Holy Spirit, that day he went to the Temple, saw Jesus and said: “Now let your servant go in peace, O Lord, according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation, a light to illuminate the people.” Simeon realizes that that child is the light of revelation and blesses the candles, a symbol of Christ who enlightens the people, hence the name Candelora, which derives from ‘candelabrum’. On this special occasion, the candles are blessed, and it is also the World Day of Consecrated Life. In reality, this festival, later absorbed by Christianity, was already celebrated in ancient Rome and various parts of Europe. In pre-Christian tradition, for the Celts, the celebration of Imbolc marked the awakening of light after the most significant moment of darkness. For the ancient Romans, this was the feast of Juno; the first days of each month were called ‘calends’, and it is from this that the term calendar derives. The Christian holiday is therefore established to coincide with this pagan holiday, not by chance, precisely to replace it.
Today, the Candlemas festival is celebrated in numerous Italian regions.
There is an ancient tradition in Campania, which is located in Castelpoto. On Christmas night and until Candlemas Day, the Baby Jesus is exposed on the high altar to be kissed one last time. In Molise, in Acquaviva Collecroce, the ancient San Biagio Fair begins in the early hours of dawn on February 2. In the afternoon, the faithful gather in the Church for the Eucharistic celebration, the blessing of the candles and the Kiss of Baby Jesus. In Sicily in Castroreale, the celebration is accompanied by the singing of the praises of the Virgin, the blessing of the candles, and a procession of the simulacrum eighteenth-century to the Mother Church and the celebration of mass. In Catania, however, Candlemas is combined with the feast of Sant’Agata, one of the most important celebrations in the town. In Basilicata in Rapolla, a procession takes place with the blessing of candles. In Sardinia in Oristano, Candlemas is deeply felt as it coincides with the preparations for Sa Sartiglia, one of the oldest equestrian events in the Mediterranean, which refers to the rites of agricultural regeneration. Many Italian villages and centres celebrate this crucial religious anniversary with devotion. Every year, the faithful gather with candles ready for blessing and eager to retrace the rituals that characterize this festival.
The tradition of ‘Candlemas’ is ancient and passes through different generations and traditions. Today, more commonly, it is associated with a saying, expressed in all dialects, but associated with the same meaning: “When the Candlemas of winter come, we are outside, but if it rains or it blows wind, we are inside winter”. It is A proverb with a thousand regional variations and more or less the same meaning: if it’s sunny, winter will be short-lived. But some traditions claim the exact opposite, that is, that bad weather at Candlemas is a sign of imminent spring. Therefore, February 2, which follows the so-called ‘blackbird days’, considered the coldest of the year, according to tradition, would be a premonitory day of the beautiful season of weather that awaits us.
According to more worldly and popular aspects of the tradition of Candlemas, on February 2, the Christmas period definitively ends: putting the Nativity scene and the various decorations for Christmas in the cellar is a way not to “forget” for another year until the upcoming holidays the centrality of the born Christ, but it is a continuation of the path of faith that the Church prepares every year for anyone who freely wants to join it. In particular, however, in some local traditions, such as in the Diocese of Milan, the candles blessed today are then used tomorrow to bless the throat scheduled every February 3 on the Christian day dedicated to San Biagio.