Candlemas, Imbolc, and Groundhog Day

Sermon by Rev. Gabi Parks

I’d like to start my ruminations about the magic of February 2^nd with a poem by the poet Robert Herrick, who lived from 1591-1674 in England:

Down with the rosemary, and so
Down with the bays and misletoe;
Down with the holly, ivy, all
Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas hall;
That so the superstitious find
Not one least branch there left behind;
For look! How many leaves there be,
Neglected there, maids, trust to me,
So many goblins you shall see.

This poem is called: "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve." Candlemas, which Catholics celebrate on Feb 2^nd, is the last festival in the Christian year. The liturgical year, which is markedly different from the calendar year, is dated by reference to Christmas until February 2^nd, subsequent holidays are calculated with reference to Easter. So Candlemas marks the end of the Christmas and Epiphany season.

Its formal name is either the “Festival of the Purification of the Virgin” or the “Presentation of Jesus in the Temple” depending on which rite the Church follows. The date of Candlemas is established by adding 40 days to the date set for the Nativity of Jesus. In the Roman Catholic Church, where Christmas is on December 25^th, Candlemas is on February 2^nd. In the Greek Orthodox Church, where the birth of Jesus is celebrated on Epiphany (January 6^th), Candlemas is on February 14^th. Hm, February 14^th, does that remind you of yet another not-so-holy holiday?

Why 40 days, you might ask? Well, under Mosaic law, a mother who had given birth to a man-child was considered unclean for seven days; moreover, she was to remain for three and thirty days "in the blood of her purification." Candlemas therefore corresponds to the day on which Mary, according to Jewish law, should have attended a ceremony of ritual purification. The gospel of Luke tells the story in Chapter 2, verse 22:

“When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), ²⁴ and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." - So this explains the formal names given to the festival.

Let me digress a little bit, because I saw raised eyebrows when I mentioned that a woman was considered unclean. In today’s enlightened society, this might sound strange, and offensive. It might raise the hackles of feminists. However, in the agrarian society in which Mary lived, life was very hard for a woman. The average life expectancy was 22 years, mostly because to problems in childbirth, and to the hard work they did. However, for the duration a woman was considered “unclean,” she couldn’t do any cooking, or washing; and her husband stayed away from her. So in a way - those seven plus 33 days gave her a much needed break!

Back to our holiday: Candlemas is mostly a celebration of Mary, of her motherhood. Mary, the most unique of all women in the world! But there is another woman, also quite unique, connected with Candlemas. Let me tell you the story of Egeria. She was a nun who was determined to travel to Jerusalem and visit the sights there, and to observe as many religious rituals as she could. So that’s what she did. And she wrote long letters to her beloved fellow nuns at home. What’s so unique about this, you ask? Well – she did all that in the years 381 through 384 AD! Imagine, a single woman, traveling all the way from Northern Germany, across the Alps, and through Italy, crossing the Mediterranean, and finally getting to the Holy Land! She knew no fear!

Let me read to you what she wrote in her tinerarium Peregrinatio ("Pilgrimage Itinerary") about Candlemas: "The fortieth day after the Epiphany is undoubtedly celebrated here with the very highest honour, for on that day there is a procession, in which all take part, in the Anastasis, and all things are done in their order with the greatest joy, just as at Easter. All the priests, and after them the bishop, preach, always taking for their subject that part of the Gospel where Joseph and Mary brought the Lord into the Temple on the fortieth day. And when everything that is customary has been done in order, the sacrament is celebrated, and the dismissal takes place."

Egeria reported that this celebration took place on February 14^th, which proves conclusively that in Jerusalem at that time, Christ's birth was celebrated on January 6, Epiphany.

Late in time though it may be, Candlemas is still the most ancient of all the festivals in honor of the Virgin Mary. The date of the feast in Rome was moved forward to the 2nd of February, since during the late 4th century the Roman feast of Christ's nativity been introduced as December 25th.

Candlemas did become important enough to find its way into the secular calendar. It was the traditional day to remove the cattle from the hay meadows, and from the field that was to be ploughed and sown that spring. References to it are common in later medieval and early Modern literature; Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is recorded as having its first performance on Candlemas Day, 1602. It remains one of the Scottish quarter days, at which debts are paid and law courts are in session. In the Roman Catholic tradition it is the day on which believers bring beeswax candles to their local church to blessed for use in the church or in the home. Also, many churches bless all the candles they plan to use in the coming year.

In the British Isles, good weather at Candlemas is taken to indicate severe winter weather later. It is the time that bears emerge from winter hibernation to inspect the weather; as well as wolves. If they choose to return to their lairs on this day, it is interpreted as meaning severe weather will continue for another forty days at least. And as we all know, in the United States and Canada, Candlemas evolved into Groundhog Day.

You heard me tell the children all about this “holiday.” Not necessarily a precise weather prediction, but it’s fun. And it is a bit of a reminder for us that we are participating in an ancient festival that ties us to the cycle of the seasons, just as it has for people through thousands of years. Our UU Principles and Purposes statement reminds us that one of the sources of our living tradition is: “Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.” Whatever the weather that February may bring to our part of the world, the Groundhog can remind us to poke up from our beds and really notice the seasons and how they change. After all, noticing the world around us is the first part of caring, and caring for our natural world, the “interdependent web of life,” is an important job for us all.

Modern neo-pagans have argued that Candlemas is a Christianization of an ancient pagan festival, Imbolc, which was celebrated in pre-Christian Europe at about the same time of year; this festival marked the mid-way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, and was celebrated with lights to hasten the coming of spring. It is the festival of the Goddess Brighid; which was “adopted” – or should I say adapted - by Christian missionaries as “St. Bridget.”

Is it a coincidence that the birthday of Saint Brigid of Kildaire, who is also called the “Mary of the Gaelic People,” is on February 1^st? Saint Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland. She lived in the 5^th century and was friends with St. Patrick. She is known for being the only female bishop of the early church, and for founding a church which soon grew into a cathedral. She also founded a school of art that became famous for its illuminations of sacred texts.

As I said before, some Pagans accuse the Roman Catholic Church of super-imposing this saint on the Celtic goddess Brighid. I wouldn’t go that far – I think what happened is that St. Brigit, whose father was a pagan, named his daughter after the goddess he honored. Still, the fact remains that Imbolc, the pagan festival celebrated on February 2^nd, is a time of especially honoring the Goddess Brighid, She is the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. She is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing (just like St. Bridget). The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

Imbolc was, and for many still is, a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days, the increasing light, and the early signs of spring. Looking at a lunar calendar, Imbolc is a celebration of the solar midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox. On the old agrarian calendars, it is the time of the lactation of ewes, who are soon to give birth to the spring lambs. Celebrations often involved hearth fires, special foods (butter, milk, and bannocks, for example), candles or a bonfire if the weather permits.

In researching this sermon, I came across many stories and legends. One of them describes how on Imbolc people were watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens. Was that maybe a precursor to Groundhog Day?

Another source tells the story of “Cailleach” (Keilech)— the divine hag of Gaelic tradition — who gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter on Imbolc. Legend has it that if she intends to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people are generally relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over

So now you’ve heard a lot of stuff that’s going on on February 2^nd. How is it all related – if it is related at all? If you look at it historically, the Celtic pagans were the first to recognize the early days of February as significant milestones of the year. Probably, they based it on the animals around them who got ready to give birth to a new generation; and on the flowers and trees that began to sprout; although it was still winter. As with all mythology, we don’t know for sure when exactly the goddess Brighid made her first appearance, but she was definitely associated with light and lengthening days.

We know much more about the Christian Saint Bridget, she was very real, and did a lot of good work. But was she really born on Feb 2^nd? Who knows? Maybe it was convenient for the church fathers at the time to make a connection between the Pagan goddess and the Christian nun. Maybe it helped people to have an image of a strong woman that helped them to overcome the winter blues.

In the United States of the 21^st century, February is the month with the highest rate of suicides. Obviously the darkness and chill of winter has negative effects on one’s psychological well-being.

And what about Phil the groundhog? Well, I can imagine that this custom has become such a beloved tradition because people are no longer so close to nature, and cannot tell anymore when the long winter will end. Maybe we need a tangible date, a popular ritual, to help us with our winter blues. Because that’s what Groundhog Day is – a ritual. And among all the fun and laughter around Phil, we can take a deep breath and make peace with the seasons, in the knowledge that even if worst comes to worst, we will only have six more weeks of winter.