The end of Christmas!

Sure, it's Groundhog Day (again!), but that's just a silly regional fun day. Today is also a more somber day, one on which we remember one of my favorite saints, Simeon.  

First of all, we should note that in medieval England, the Christmas celebration ended on Candlemas, February 2, forty days after Christmas Day. This may seem like too much of a good thing, but we have to remember that Advent was not a time of Christmas parties and general hoopla as it is now. Rather, Advent was like a mini-Lent, and not the celebration period. So for them, Christmas was the start of the festivities, not the end. I enjoy what we call the Christmas season (Thanksgiving through New Year's), but it really has turned the celebration on its head.

So what is Candlemas, more officially known as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord? It's what it sounds like, the commemoration of Mary and Joseph taking the baby Jesus to the temple, which was the custom of the time, to have the baby consecrated to God. (This followed the 40-day purification period after childbirth, which enabled the mother to get over having birthed a child!) Since we don't know much about the childhood of Jesus, this does make a natural bookend to the Christmas season. 

At the temple, according to Luke, two saints are met: the prophetess Anna, and my man Simeon. There is something about Simeon I love. His extraordinary patience is admirable -- I have no patience, so I admire it in others. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.

This man was righteous and devout,

awaiting the consolation of Israel,

and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

that he should not see death

before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 

He came in the Spirit into the temple;

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus

to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,

he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

    “Now, Master, you may let your servant go 

        in peace, according to your word,

    for my eyes have seen your salvation,

        which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:

    a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

        and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;

and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

--and you yourself a sword will pierce--

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Pretty harsh words for Mary, but he only spoke the truth. The prayer to God, known as the Canticle of Simeon, is called also the nunc dimittis, from the opening words in the Latin vulgate -- "Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine" ("Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord").

So now Christmas is over. You may take down your decorations. I almost waited that long, but just because I was so busy -- the fake tree didn't retire to the cellar until January 20, I think.

Today's Feast of the Presentation is also called Candlemas because of the traditional blessing of the candles used in church at Mass. Parishioners are often invited to bring candles from home for this blessing, too. This comes from Simeon's declaration of Jesus as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles". 

So is it just a coincidence that Groundhog Day calls on Candlemas?  

Probably not. According to Dr. Wiki, the Germans had a superstition related to Candlemas, about its weather being the determinant factor of the timing of spring weather (although the Germans turned mostly Lutheran, they held on to Candlemas). This predictive belief got tied to the local badger, whose actions during Candlemas week would give them a heads-up on when they could expect to start planting. That got transferred with the Germans to Pennsylvania, and the preponderance of groundhogs rather than badgers led to the modern Groundhog Day. 

It's an interesting lesson for how we shuffle things around in the modern world. A period of fasting and preparation (Advent) becomes the period of feasting and merriment (the Christmas season) and a day of dedication and blessing becomes a day for a rodent to forecast the weather. I'm sure there's more to be made of this topic, but I'm cold and grumpy. Just walked the dog and I'm freezing. That little jerk in Punxsutawney had better not see his shadow today.