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This will be another quick post as I continue to train for my 2nd half marathon coming up on March 20th. I'm writing this post, despite it being weeks after Candlemas, mainly for my own reference as I will link this post on my A Slice of Liturgical Life page for future reference. If my blog posts of how we celebrate feast days happens to inspire a reader, then that's icing on the cake!
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, commonly called Candlemas, commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple and the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary. It falls exactly 40 days after Christmas.
Candlemas is celebrated on February 2nd and on this feast candles are traditionally blessed. I didn't really know why candles were blessed until I saw this explanation on Jessica's blog at Catholic Cuisine: Candles are blessed on this day to help us remember the words of holy Simeon who called the babe in his arms, "A light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel."
We have celebrated Candlemas in the past by bringing candles from home to a local Catholic Church and the priest blessed our candles. This year we didn't bring candles to our church, but rather we lit candles in our home and read about the Feast of the Presentation in Mary: The Mother of Jesus book by Tomie DePaola. We also talked about how the Feast of the Presentation is the 4th Joyful Mystery when praying the rosary.
A very special candle that I always enjoy lighting is the one that was a wedding gift to us when a family member glued part of our wedding invitation to the candle and decorated it with beads around the border.
This is the first year we made "Candlemas Cookies" using the instructions at Catholic Cuisine. We had alot of fun making these and I hope to make it a family tradition!
Have a blessed week!
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