Happy Candlemas, February 2nd.
Posted by Irish Rose Gifts on 12th Jun 2024
Happy Candlemas, February 2nd
Happy
Candlemas, February 2nd – the month of February is derived from the
Latin word “februm” which is an implement used in ritual purification. A
festival variously known as Februa, Februalia and Februatio which is
thought to be pre-Roman in origin was held on the 15th of the month. It
was the spring festival of washing and purification. Later the festival
was subsumed into the festival of Lupercalia
which ran from the 13th to the 15th and it had the similar purpose to
banish evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility.
Candlemas occurs exactly 40 days after Christmas on 2nd of February and
is also known as the "Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin
Mary”. It arises out of the Jewish tradition (Mosaic law or the law of
Moses) where women were considered unclean for a specified period after
childbirth. When this period had expired mothers visited the temple to
undergo a ritual ceremony of purification. Mary was pure but decided to
attend anyway as it was an opportunity to present Jesus to the world.
Wikipedia has the following entry on the subject.
Some authors claim that Pope Gelasius I (494–96) replaced Lupercalia
with the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but
researcher Jack Oruch says that there is no written record of Gelasius
ever intending a replacement of Lupercalia. Some researchers, such as
Kellog and Cox, have made a separate claim that the modern customs of
Saint Valentine's Day originate from Lupercalia customs. Other
researchers have rejected this claim: they say there is no proof that
the modern customs of Saint Valentine's Day originate from Lupercalia
customs and the claim seems to originate from misconceptions about
festivities.
Henry Ansgar Kelly, in "Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine" (Leiden: Brill) 1986, pp. 58-63
Michael Matthew Kaylor (2006), Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians:
Hopkins, Pater and Wilde (electronic ed.), Masaryk University
(re-published in electronic format), p. footnote 2 in page 235, ISBN
80-210-4126-9
Jack B. Oruch, "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February" Speculum 56.3 (July 1981:534–565)
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