Thursday, February 02, 2006
Candlemas
If Candlemas day brings snow and rain,
Winter is gone and won't come again.
If Candlemas Day be clear and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
__________________________
Today is Candlemas (better known in this country as groundhog day). Set at forty days after Christmas, it is a day combining religion and ancient traditions. If New Year's Day is the ending of the old calendar year and the beginning of the new, symbolized by the Roman god Janus, with two faces, looking backward and forward, then Candlemas might also be a day where we look backward (to winter), and forward (to spring), for it is roughly halfway between winter and spring. It is the last holiday of the Christmas season; the religious days now become referenced to Easter. Candlemas eve was a time to take down the Christmas greenery in the house, and people then placed lighted candles in all the windows of their homes to celebrate and to encourage the sun to return bright and strong. Candlemas day was when the church candles for the year were blessed (hence Candlemas) . It is a day to walk in the woods, and to feel the warming sun on your face, a day to note how the birds are just starting to pair off, and a day to meander slowly through the garden, admiring myriads of flower bulbs showing their new growth on the forest floor. Though cold and snow will buffet us in the coming weeks, Candlemas is a signpost at least on the slowly climbing road to spring.
Winter is gone and won't come again.
If Candlemas Day be clear and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
__________________________
Today is Candlemas (better known in this country as groundhog day). Set at forty days after Christmas, it is a day combining religion and ancient traditions. If New Year's Day is the ending of the old calendar year and the beginning of the new, symbolized by the Roman god Janus, with two faces, looking backward and forward, then Candlemas might also be a day where we look backward (to winter), and forward (to spring), for it is roughly halfway between winter and spring. It is the last holiday of the Christmas season; the religious days now become referenced to Easter. Candlemas eve was a time to take down the Christmas greenery in the house, and people then placed lighted candles in all the windows of their homes to celebrate and to encourage the sun to return bright and strong. Candlemas day was when the church candles for the year were blessed (hence Candlemas) . It is a day to walk in the woods, and to feel the warming sun on your face, a day to note how the birds are just starting to pair off, and a day to meander slowly through the garden, admiring myriads of flower bulbs showing their new growth on the forest floor. Though cold and snow will buffet us in the coming weeks, Candlemas is a signpost at least on the slowly climbing road to spring.
// posted by IBOY @ 8:11 AM 
