Candlemas

Some thoughts and observations for consideration by Rev. Michaël Merle
Candlemas is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter. It is traditionally celebrated in the Christian tradition on 2 February. This date is significant in that it ties together important numbers that speak to periods of preparation and culmination. The two significant numbers here are 33 and 40. In accordance with Leviticus 12, a woman was to be purified by presenting a lamb as a burnt offering, and either a young pigeon or dove as a sin offering, 33 days after a boy's circumcision. Counting from the night of December 24th into Christmas Day this falls on 2 February, which is traditionally the 40th day (postpartum period) of and the conclusion of the Christmas–Epiphany season. While it is customary for Christians in some traditions to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night (Epiphany Eve), those in some other Christian traditions historically remove them after Candlemas. On Candlemas, many Christians (especially Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists) also bring their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year (hence the name: Candlemas). These blest candles can then serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World, and are usually used as prayer candles. The significance of 40 relates to a gestation (a human approximately 9 month – in reality: 40 week – gestation). There are many biblical references to this number: the days and nights of the Great Flood, the years wandering in the desert before arriving at the Promised Land, the days of the journey of Elijah to the Mountain of God, the days of fasting in the desert after The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. The number 33 relates directly to the sacrifice of The Lamb of God: the age of Jesus, bearer of the Christ, at The Mystery of Golgotha (The Easter Mystery of Death and Resurrection). With our 4 Sunday-week long season of Epiphany, the latest date for the 4th Sunday of Epiphany would be 2 February. After this time we enter into a period between the seasons of the Father: Advent-Christmas-Epiphany, and the seasons of the Son: Passiontide-Easter-Ascension.