Candlemas Day: History, Significance and all you need to know

Candlemas, also called Presentation of the Lord or Presentation of Christ in the Temple or Hypapante is a Christian festival celebrated on February 2, which commemorates the occasion when the Virgin Mary went to the Temple in Jerusalem to be purified 40 days after the birth of her son, Jesus, and to present him to God as her firstborn.

The feast, which is observed 40 days after Christmas, is officially the end of the Christmas season.

On the occasion, worshippers bring candles to their churches to be blessed. The candles represent Jesus and the day his induction into Judaism.

The Feast of the Presentation, on Candlemas Day is one of the oldest feasts in the Christian calendar celebrated since the 4th century A.D. in Jerusalem.

At around 541 A.D, a terrible plague struck Constantinople. The then Emperor Justinian I ordered huge prayer processions throughout the city during the Feast of the Presentation to ask God for deliverance from the evil of the disease.

After the plague passed, the celebration of Candlemas spread throughout the Roman Empire.

How to celebrate Candlemas Day?

One can celebrate Candlemas day by lighting a candle for goodwill, charity, or unselfishness, and by following Jesus' example of being a "light to the world."

One can also attend a mass celebrating the Feast of the Presentation.

Published on: Wednesday, February 01, 2023, 03:02 PM IST