The symbolism of Candlemas

We all ate, a few days ago, the traditional pancakes of Candlemas... And many of us know that this festival corresponds to the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple... But do you know the origin of Candlemas and the symbols that are used, especially in Provence?

Here are some hints...

The origins of Candlemas

The word Candlemas comes from the Latin expression: festa candelarum (festival of candles). It is several ancient festivals that seem to be at the origin. Indeed, the Celts celebrated Imbolc on February 1st, in honor of the goddess of fertility, Birgit. The Romans celebrated the Lupercales, around February 15, in honor of Lupercus, god of fertility and flocks. Around the same date, the festival of Feralia also took place.

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple by Fra Angelico (San Marco Cell 10), free use by Canva

Candlemas is superimposed, in Tradition, on a religious rite to which the parents of Jesus submitted when presenting him to the Temple: it was then a question of redeeming the first-born boys, at the age of one month, because they were considered to belong to God (Ex 13:2-12).

The fusion of these two feasts seems to have been achieved by Pope Gelasius I who, at the end of the fifth century, explained in a letter to the senator Andromachus that he wanted to re-establish the Lupercalia, convinced of their purifying power, and who associated the candles with the feast of the Purification in 494, for the first torchlight processions of February 2nd.

This theme of lights is found in the phrase of Simeon, in the Temple, who recognizes Jesus as the "Light that reveals itself to the nations" and this same light prefigures Mary's vigil during the three days that separate Jesus' Crucifixion from his Resurrection, given that she is the only one to have kept the light and faith in her heart while her loved ones were in despair.

Candlemas is now one of the twelve major liturgical feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Churches 40 days after Christmas, on February 2, a month whose Latin etymology "februare" is associated with "new fire" and therefore with purification.

This period also marks the purification of nature, which is preparing to emerge from winter. The days grow longer and call the sun️ to come and regenerate this nature to ensure good harvests during the coming year.

Candlemas in Provence

Crib and candle

Candlemas marks, in Provencal families, the end of the cycle of Christmas celebrations, started on December 4 with the wheat of Saint Barbara. The time has come to dismantle the cribs installed two months earlier and to put them away in boxes.

In Provence, the tradition is to have a candle blessed during mass and to return home with the candle lit: if the candle goes out before arriving, it is a sign of a bad omen. Once the candle is in the house, the lady of the house makes the sign of the cross with the candle in front of every opening, door and window, to protect the house from lightning and, in the past, to facilitate an upcoming wedding or childbirth.

The symbolism of pancakes

Legend has it that in the Middle Ages, at this time of the year, a meal was made from wheat, in order to bring back spring as soon as possible and to beg for a generous wheat harvest. In the years of dearth, the meal was maintained, but a fine wheat lace was then elaborated, which is the ancestor of our current pancakes. The round shape of the pancake and its golden color are a symbolic representation of the solar disk.

At a time when survival depended on the harvest, farmers feared bad weather.

In order to obtain protection for their harvest, they would blow up the first pancake with their right hand while holding a gold coin in their left hand - the gold coin being another representation of the sun star... They then rolled the coin in the crepe and the whole family carried it in procession to the room where it was placed on top of the wardrobe. It remained there until the next Candlemas, so that the whole year would be prosperous!

Some Provençal sayings about Candlemas

- "A la chandeleur nous sommes à la moitié du fenil." [*fenil = grenier à foin]

At Candlemas we are halfway through the hayloft."

"A la Candeliero, Sian au mitan de la feniero."

-À la Chandeleur, grande neige et froideur.

At Candlemas, great snow and cold.

- À la Chandeleur, le froid fait douleur.

At Candlemas, the cold is painful.

- À la Chandeleur, Rose n'en sentira que l'odeur.

At Candlemas, Rose will feel only the smell.

- Quand pour la Chandeleur le soleil est brillant, il fait plus froid après qu'avant.

When for Candlemas the sun is bright, it is colder after than before.

- Quand Notre-Dame de la Chandeleur luit, l'hiver de quarante jours s'ensuit

When Our Lady of Candlemas shines, the winter of forty days follows

- Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure.

Dew at Candlemas, winter at its last hour.

Illustrations : free pics by Canva