Candlemas

History

At the Roman , one celebrated around the February 15th, Lupercus, god of fruitfulness and the herds.

At the Celtic , one celebrated Imbolc it. This rite, in the honor of the Brigid goddess, celebrated the purification and the fertility with leaving the winter. The peasants carried torches and traversed the fields in procession, requesting the goddess to purify the ground before the semailles.

With the 5th century, the pope Gélase I {{er}} associates this pagan rite of the “festival of the candles” with the presentation of Jesus with the temple and the Purification of the Vierge. According to Lévitique 12, a little boy must be presented to the Lord by his mother, 40 days after the birth, with an offering of two turtle-doves. In the churches, one replaces the torches by blessed candles from which the gleam moves away the Evil and just like points out that Christ is the light of the world , the Jewish holiday of Hanoukka, which lasts eight days is the " celebrates of Lumières". The Christians brought back then the candles on their premises in order to protect their hearth. It is at that time of the year that the sowing of winter started. One thus made use of the exceeding flour to make crepes, symbol of prosperity for the year to come.

But it is only in 1372 that this festival will be officially associated with the Purification of the Virgin.

Symbolic system

France

Today, one knows especially the Candlemas because it is the day of the Crêpe S. One tells that it is this same pope Gélase I^er who made distribute crepes to the pilgrims who arrived at Rome.

One also says that crepes, by their round and gilded form, recall the solar disk, evoking the return of spring after the dark and cold winter.

There still nowadays exists a whole symbolic system related to the clothes industry of crepes. It is thus recommended to make jump the pancakes of the right hand by holding a part in the left hand in order to know prosperity during all the year. It is also said that the first made pancake must be sent on a cupboard and that thus next harvests will be abundant.

Mexico

It is the occasion to eat Tamal are.

The United States and Canada

The celebration of the Candlemas was replaced by the Jour of the marmot.

Proverbs

Many proverbs are also associated with the Candlemas. Here are some:
With the Candlemas, the winter dies or takes strength.
With the Candlemas, the day grows two hours.
With the Candlemas, large snow and coldness.
With the Candlemas, the cold makes pain.
With the Candlemas, at the great day, great pains.
With the Candlemas, Quéré makes crepes until step of hours.
If the she-wolf is put at the sun, on February 2nd: six weeks of winter behind.
Dew with the Candlemas, the winter has its last hour.
If the candle is beautiful and clear, we have the winter behind, if the sky is neither clear nor beautiful, we will have more wine than of water. (of Bordeaux)

Be-X-old: Стрэчаньне

Random links: