2 February in the liturgical calendar is the date of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, also the feast of the Purification of Mary, called Candlemas. Our parish's patron saint, Dunstan of Canterbury, has a great Candlemas story in his vita (biography), incorporating elements of the Visitation and Pentecost, and a sort of forerunner of the Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem. It falls 40 days after Christmas, and marks the end of Christmastide.

Why candles? In the medieval church (and still) this was the day when the year's supply of candles (or maybe a representative sample?) was taken to church to be blessed for home use, and also offered for use in the church. Candle making was a winter activity - it required a lot of time, could be done indoors when the weather was bad and outdoor agricultural tasks were at a minimum, and required a fire to melt the tallow or wax. Beeswax would be harvested along with the last of the summer honey, and tallow after winter butchering, so by this time all the materials were assembled. Why the Feast of the Presentation? The Song of Simeon (Nunc dimittis), which is part of the proper for this feast and also used every day at Evensong, gives us the link: 'A Light to lighten the Gentiles'. Light, that key symbol of the Incarnation, is mirrored here at the end of the season.

St Dunstan: the Candlemas Miracle from the A Clerk of Oxford blog, by Dr Eleanor Parker of Brasenose College, Oxford.

More about medieval Candlemas , also from Dr Parker