Candlemas is the traditional English name for the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, also legitimately called the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the book Exodus, as part of the continuing thankfulness for freedom from slavery in Egypt, the first born males (whether human or animal) were to be presented to God as his. They could be bought back or redeemed by the gift of a replacement sacrifice. We know the status of Joseph and Mary because they bring to the temple the sacrifice laid down for the poor - not a lamb, or anything extravagant, but two small doves. Jesus, of course, is not the run-of-the-mill first born. The prophet Malachi had foreseen this moment:

the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come into his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? Mal 3:1b-2

Presumably it was this text that kept Simeon going, hoping to see the day of Jesus's coming, and promised by God that he would not die until that day had come.

But why 'candlemas'? In our age of LED lighting we forget how important candles were for our ancestors. There were two sorts of candles, rough ones for the poor made from tallow (animal fat) and expensive ones made for the rich (and for the Church) made from beeswax. In the late winter the candles of both types were made and blessed for the coming year. Mary and Joseph brought an offering to the Temple, we often light a candle as an offering in our church. There's the connection.

So we light our last Christmas candles forty days after Christmas itself, and we process away from the Christmas crib, the security of which we must now leave behind; and we process towards the uncertainty of the Cross - what does it mean; will Jesus be defeated by it; will we be sufficiently strong not to deny him as Peter did; what do we need to do to follow him and to play our part?

Fr Tom Pyke