Candlemas... The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

In bygone centuries, Christians said their last farewells to the Christmas  season on Candlemas, 2 February. This is exactly 40 days after Christmas  Day itself. 

In New Testament times, 40 days old was an important age for a baby boy. It  was when they made their first ‘public appearance’. Mary, like all good  Jewish mothers, went to the Temple with Jesus - her first male child - to  ‘present Him to the Lord’. At the same time, she, as a new mother, was  ‘purified’. Thus, we have the Festival of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. ​

So, where does the Candlemas bit come in?

Jesus is described in the New  Testament as the Light of the World, and early Christians developed the  tradition of lighting many candles in celebration of this day. The Church  also fell into the custom of blessing the year’s supply of candles for the  church on this day - hence the name "Candlemas."

The story of how Candlemas began can be found in Luke 2:22-40. Simeon’s  great declaration of faith and recognition of who Jesus was is of course  found in the Nunc Dimittis, which is embedded in the Office of Evening  Prayer in the West. But in medieval times, the Nunc Dimittis was mostly  used just on this day, during the distribution of candles before the  Eucharist. Only gradually did it win a place in the daily prayer life of the  Church.