Since this day has ties to Valentine's Day, a bit of trivia that may interest you concerns  the traditional Valentines Day heart - a red heart shape surrounded by lace.  First of  all, that isn't the shape of a heart. That shape  originally was meant to represent the female sex organs.  (comment by Graybear)
 

It seems quite impossible that the holiday of Candlemas should be  considered the beginning of Spring.  February  2nd may see a blanket of snow mantling Mother Earth.  If the  snows have gone, you may be sure the days are filled with drizzle,  slush, and steel-grey skies -- the dreariest weather of the year. In  short, the perfect time for a Pagan Festival of Lights. As for  Spring, although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the little  buds, flowers and leaves will have arrived on schedule before Spring  runs its course to Beltane.

"Candlemas" is the Christianized name for the holiday, of course.  The older Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc. "Imbolc" means,  literally, 'in the belly' (of Mother Earth). For in the womb of Mother  Earth, hidden from our mundane sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was planted in her womb  at the solstice is quickening and the new year grows. "Oimelc"  means 'milk of ewes', for it is also lambing season.

The holiday is also called 'Brigit's Day', in honor of the great Irish  Goddess Brigit. At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a  group of 19 priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame  burning in her honor. She was considered a goddess of fire,  patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing, especially the healing  touch of midwifery. This tripartite symbolism was occasionally  expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters, also named Brigit.  Incidentally, another form of the name Brigit is Bride, and it is thus  She bestows her special patronage on any woman about to be  married or handfasted, the woman being called 'bride' in her honor.

The Roman Catholic Church could not very easily call the Great  Goddess of Ireland a demon, so they canonized her instead.  Henceforth, she would be 'Saint' Brigit, patron saint of smithcraft,  poetry, and healing.  They 'explained' this by telling the Irish  peasants that Brigit was 'really' an early Christian missionary sent to the Emerald Isle, and that the miracles she performed there  'misled' the common people into believing that she was a goddess.  For some reason, the Irish swallowed this.

Brigit's holiday was chiefly marked by the kindling of sacred fires,  since she symbolized the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the  forge, and the fire of poetic inspiration. Bonfires were lighted on the beacon tors, and chandlers celebrated their special holiday. The  Roman Church was quick to confiscate this symbolism as well, using 'Candlemas' as the day to bless all the church candles that  would be used for the coming liturgical year. Catholics will be  reminded that the following day, St. Blaise's Day, is remembered  for using the newly-blessed candles to bless the throats of  parishioners, keeping them from colds, flu, sore throats, etc.

The Catholic Church also called it the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The symbol of the Purification  may seem a little obscure to modern readers, but it has to do with  the old custom of 'churching women'. It was believed that women  were impure for six weeks after giving birth. Since Mary gave  birth at the winter solstice, she wouldn't be purified until February  2nd. In Pagan symbolism, this might be re-translated as when the  Great Mother once again becomes the Young Maiden Goddess.

Today, this holiday is chiefly connected to weather lore. Even our American folk calendar keeps the tradition of 'Groundhog's Day', a  day to predict the coming weather, telling us that if the Groundhog  sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of bad weather  (i.e., until the next old holiday, Lady Day).  This custom is ancient.  An old British rhyme tells us that 'If Candlemas Day be bright and  clear, there'll be two winters in the year.' Actually, all of the cross-quarter days can be used as 'inverse' weather predictors, whereas  the quarter-days are used as 'direct' weather predictors.

Candlemas is sometimes celebrated on its alternate date, astrologically determined by the sun's reaching 15 degrees Aquarius, or Candlemas Old Style. Incidentally, some modern groups have recently begun calling the holiday itself 'Brigit',  presumably as a shorthand for 'Brigit's Day'.

Another holiday that gets mixed up in this is Valentine's Day. Incidentally, there is speculation among linguistic scholars that the  vary name of 'Valentine' has Pagan origins. It seems that it was  customary for French peasants of the Middle Ages to pronounce a  'g' as a 'v'. Consequently, the original term may have been the  French 'galantine', which yields the English word 'gallant'. The word  originally refers to a dashing young man known for his 'affaires  d'amour', a true galant. The usual associations of V(G)alantine's Day make much more sense in this light than their  vague connection to a legendary 'St. Valentine' can produce.  Indeed, the Church has always found it rather difficult to explain  this nebulous saint's connection to the secular pleasures of  flirtation and courtly love.

Candlemas O.S. may then be seen as the Pagan version of Valentine's Day, with a de-emphasis of 'hearts  and flowers' and an appropriate re-emphasis of Pagan carnal  frivolity.  This also re-aligns the holiday with the ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility festival held at this time in which the priests  of Pan ran through the streets of Rome whacking young women with goatskin thongs to make them fertile.  The women seemed to  enjoy the attention and often stripped in order to afford better  targets.

One of the nicest folk-customs still practiced in many countries is to place a lighted candle in each and every window of the  house (or at least the windows that faced the street), beginning at  sundown on Candlemas Eve (February 1st), allowing them to  continue burning until sunrise. Make sure that such candles are well seated against tipping and guarded from nearby curtains, etc.  What a cheery sight it is on this cold, bleak and dreary night to  see house after house with candle-lit windows!

Other customs of the holiday include weaving 'Brigit's crosses' from  straw or wheat to hang around the house for protection, performing  rites of spiritual cleansing and purification, making 'Brigit's beds' to  ensure fertility of mind and spirit (and body, if desired), and making  Crowns of Light (i.e. of candles) for the High Priestess to wear for  the Candlemas Circle, similar to those worn on St. Lucy's Day in  Scandinavian countries. All in all, this Pagan Festival of Lights,  sacred to the young Maiden Goddess, is one of the most beautiful  and poetic of the year.
 

Document Copyright © 1986, 1998 by Mike Nichols
 
 

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