A humble Sunday in February
St. Brigid of Kildare
An old Scottish poem says this . . .
As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger.
If Candlemas day be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight;
If Candlemas Day be clouds and rain
Winter be gone and will not come again.
A farmer should, on Candlemas Day
Have half his corn and half his hay.
On Candlemas Day if the thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop.
What, you may be asking yourself, is Candlemas?
Candlemas is the 40th Day after Christmas, February 2nd. It is, in the high church calendar, the absolute last date of the Christmas celebration. As the name “Candle Mass” suggests, it is the day when candles are blessed for the year; another celebration, like Epiphany, or even Christmas itself, of tipping toward the light.
As with most Christian holy days, some say there is another, more ancient holy day behind it. In this case, it is the Celtic or Gaelic festival of Imbolc - “in milk” or “in the belly” - celebrating the birth and nursing of the first lamb; the first signs of spring. In Ireland, Feb. 2 is also St. Brigid’s Day, Brigid being one of those pagan/Christian mixes of saints. There are many traditions associated with St. Brigid’s Day, Brigid the patron saint of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. In some places even today in Ireland you can be sure homes will let their fires go out, rake the ashes, and in the morning look for some sign Brigid has come, like leaving cookies out for Santa. Pieces of clothing are left outside the door for Brigid to bless. They are considered special after this day. St. Brigid even has her own cross: the cross of rushes.
February 2 in the church calendar is also the day celebrated as The Presentation of The Lord; the day Jesus was presented at the Temple in Jerusalem by Mary, his mother, because she was now able to come to the Temple having completed the Jewish rite of purification after childbirth. Thus, in some churches February 2 is celebrated as The Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. Take a moment and read the story for yourself in Luke 2:22-40.
And yes, in Germany and America February 2 is Groundhog Day. If there is good weather, the groundhog will see his or her shadow, which means bad weather ahead. If it is an overcast or stormy day and the groundhog does not see his or her shadow, the winter will be mild from now on. How many more weeks of winter will there be? Six. Why six? On the Julian calendar, the vernal equinox was March 16, which, if you do the math from Feb. 2, is 6 weeks. When Pennsylvania was settled by a large contingent of German immigrants, they brought the tradition of Groundhog Day with them.
There is a wonderful movie titled “Groundhog Day." Bill Murray. Andie MacDowell. The movie is about a man who is cursed to relive the same day (Groundhog Day) over and over again until he learns how to love and how to be someone who is capable of being loved. Because of the film, “Groundhog Day” has entered our popular lexicon as a word for the idea that you are living the same day over and over again. This ties in with our other February 2nd celebrations as being a moment of balance between the seasons, a moment of new birth, of presentation, and of purification.
So welcome to Groundhog Day - Candlemas - the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin - The Presentation of The Lord - Imbolc - St. Brigid’s Day! That's a lot of freight for a humble Sunday in February to carry. I’ve offered these words to you because you are living today, now, in a time post-presentation; post-purification; a time on the downhill side of winter, a time when the world has tipped toward the light, and you might not know it. You do now. You might be at a point in your life when you wake up and every day feels more or less the same. It’s easy in winter to feel like that.
February 2nd reminds us, though, that every day we wake up is also a day for us to change, to improve, to reflect, to do better, to be more faithful, more loving, more kind. The Lamb of God has been born into the world and is nursing. He’s been presented to us, and because of that, we’ve been purified; forgiven. If you see your shadow, that’s because the sun is shining.
When you think of it, really, today is all and everything we will ever have. What will you do with the gift today is?