Candlemas

Candlemas
/kan"dl meuhs, -mas'/, n.
a church festival, February 2, in honor of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary: candles are blessed on this day. Also called Candlemas Day.
[bef. 1050; ME candelmasse, OE candelmaesse. See CANDLE, -MAS]

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(February 2) In the Christian church, the celebration of the presentation of the infant Jesus and the post-childbirth purification of Mary in the Temple, in accordance with Jewish law.

The Greek church calls it Hypapante ("Meeting") in reference to Jesus' meeting there with Simeon, to whom it had been revealed that he would not die before meeting the Messiah. The festival is first documented in Jerusalem in the late 4th century; the custom of observing it with lighted candles (the source of its name) dates to at least the mid-5th century. The popular nonreligious holiday Groundhog Day developed, in part, from the medieval tradition that certain animals interrupted their hibernation on this day.

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▪ religious festival
also called  Presentation Of The Lord, or Presentation Of Christ In The Temple, or Hypapante,  

      in the Christian church, festival on February 2, commemorating the occasion when the Virgin Mary, in obedience to Jewish law, went to the Temple in Jerusalem both to be purified 40 days after the birth of her son and to present Jesus to God as her firstborn (Luke 2:22–38). The festival was formerly known in the Roman Catholic church as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is now known as the Presentation of the Lord. In the Anglican church it is called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. In the Greek church it is called Hypapante (Meeting), in reference to Jesus' meeting in the Temple with the aged Simeon.

      The earliest reference to the festival is from Jerusalem, where in the late 4th century the Western pilgrim Etheria attended its celebration on February 14, 40 days after Epiphany (then celebrated as Christ's birthday), and wrote of it in the Peregrinatio Etheriae. It soon spread to other Eastern cities, and in 542 Justinian I decreed that its date should be moved back to February 2 (40 days after Christmas). By the middle of the 5th century the custom of observing the festival with lighted candles had been introduced, and the name Candlemas developed from this custom. In the Western church, Pope Sergius I (687–701) instituted the festival in Rome. In the East it is primarily a festival of Christ; in the West it was primarily a celebration of the Virgin Mary until the calendar reform of 1969.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Candlemas — • Also called: Purification of the Blessed Virgin, Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Candlemas     Candlemas      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Candlemas — [kan′dəlməs] n. [ME candelmasse < OE candelmæsse: see CANDLE & MASS1] a church feast, Feb. 2, commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary: candles for sacred uses are blessed on this day: also Candlemas Day …   English World dictionary

  • Candlemas — Can dle*mas, n. [AS. candelm[ae]sse, candel candle + m[ae]sse mass.] The second day of February, on which is celebrated the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary; so called because the candles for the altar or other sacred uses are blessed …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Candlemas — See quarter day. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001 …   Law dictionary

  • Candlemas — ► NOUN ▪ a Christian festival held on 2 February to commemorate the purification of the Virgin Mary (after childbirth, according to Jewish law) and the presentation of Christ in the Temple …   English terms dictionary

  • Candlemas — see if Candlemas day be sunny and bright, winter will have another flight; if Candlemas day be cloudy with rain, winter is gone, and won’t come again Candlemas day, put beans in the clay; put candles and candle sticks away …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • Candlemas — (2 February)    This is the English name for a religious festival, the last of the Christmas cycle, which celebrates the Purification (i.e. the *churching) of the Virgin Mary 40 days after the birth of Jesus, in accordance with Jewish custom. It… …   A Dictionary of English folklore

  • Candlemas Island — is a small uninhabited island of the Candlemas Islands in the South Sandwich Islands. It lies about two miles from Vindication Island, separated by the Nelson Channel.On the northwest flank of the island is an active stratovolcano, Lucifer Hill,… …   Wikipedia

  • Candlemas day, put beans in the clay; put candles and candle-sticks away — For Candlemas Day see preceding proverb (if Candlemas day be sunny and bright, winter will have another flight; if Candlemas day be cloudy with rain, winter is gone, and won’t come again). The two halves of the proverb appear to have come… …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • Candlemas Island — Vorlage:Infobox Insel/Wartung/Bild fehlt Candlemas Island Gewässer Atlantischer Ozean Inselgruppe Südliche Sandwichinseln Geographische Lage …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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