a partner church in the WOLDSBURN benefice
CHURCH AT KIRKBURN
The official date for Candlemas is February 2nd. It falls mid-way between the great cross-quarter days which make up the wheel of the year , that is midway between the winter solstice and the spring vertinox. It is often considered to be the first day of spring. In the Christian Church it is celebrated indifferently as the purification of the Virgin Mary and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. At St. Mary’s we had our normal Communion Service followed by special prayers for Candlemas, a Candlemas procession with lighted candles to the Font, the singing of the Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis) and the general dismissal accompanied by a triumphant “Pageant” written by June Nixon, one of the organist’s favourite composers from Australia.
Although most people follow the tradition of taking down Christmas decorations by January 6th (12th night) actually Candlemas represents the last day of Christmas. The promises of the return of light and the renewal of life received at the winter solstice can be seen at Candlemas. It’s the dawn of the year, and those who rise early in the morning see for themselves the new light of the day; the farmer, ploughing the first furrow, would knead a loaf of bread with milk and holy water, laying it under the first furrow and saying:
Acre full fed bring fodder for men
Blossoming brightly, blessed become;
And the God who wrought the ground
Grant us the gifts of growing
That the corn, all the corn
May come unto our need
All life begins again at this time. Hibernation ends. Seeds begin to germinate, The hedgehog is supposed to come out of his burrow on this day to check his shadow (if he sees it, the day being fair and sunny) then he hastens back to his burrow as there will be six more weeks of bad weather. If the day is cloudy and, therefore, shadowless, the hedgehog takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.
Although most people follow the tradition of taking down Christmas decorations by January 6th (12th night) actually Candlemas represents the last day of Christmas. The promises of the return of light and the renewal of life received at the winter solstice can be seen at Candlemas. It’s the dawn of the year, and those who rise early in the morning see for themselves the new light of the day; the farmer, ploughing the first furrow, would knead a loaf of bread with milk and holy water, laying it under the first furrow and saying:
Acre full fed bring fodder for men
Blossoming brightly, blessed become;
And the God who wrought the ground
Grant us the gifts of growing
That the corn, all the corn
May come unto our need
All life begins again at this time. Hibernation ends. Seeds begin to germinate, The hedgehog is supposed to come out of his burrow on this day to check his shadow (if he sees it, the day being fair and sunny) then he hastens back to his burrow as there will be six more weeks of bad weather. If the day is cloudy and, therefore, shadowless, the hedgehog takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.
CANDLEMAS 2007
February 2007
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http://www.churchatkirkburn.org.uk/page 144.html Candlemas 1 of 2 (145) 12/11/08