10 Facts about Candlemas
· Candlemas is a Christian festival commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple 40 days after his birth.
· It is called Candlemas because this festival is when all the candles used in the church during the year are blessed.
· It is also known as the Feast of Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
· Candlemas takes place on the 2nd February.
· It was written down in Jewish law (the Torah) that a mother could not visit the Temple or synagogue for worship for 40 days after giving birth to a son and 60 days after giving birth to a baby girl.
· This time was a period of purification.
· It was written down in Jewish law that a child should be brought to the Temple to be consecrated to God. After purification, Mary went to the Temple to present her son Jesus to be consecrated to God.
·They were met by Simeon and Anna who were two incredibly old people who had been waiting for the Messiah to come and they knew immediately that Jesus was the Messiah.
·Simeon held the baby Jesus and said he was a light for the world.
Before Christianity, in ancient times, people lit lights at the mid-point between the Winter solstice and the Spring equinox to scare away evil in the dark days of Winter. This could have been one of the roots of Candlemas, a festival of light.
