Candlemas: the Presentation of Jesus

When: Every year on February 2

Forty days after Christmas, Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple. An old man named Simeon called him “a light to the nations”. So on February 2 churches bless candles, and in many places it is the last day of the Christmas season.

Where it came from

Luke 2:22–40 tells how Jesus's parents took him to the Temple in Jerusalem, as the law of their people asked. Simeon and Anna, two faithful older people, recognised him and gave thanks. Simeon's words, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”, give the day its candles.

A pilgrim named Egeria, who visited Jerusalem in the late 300s, described a celebration forty days after Epiphany. When Christmas on December 25 spread, the feast moved to February 2. In the East it is called the Meeting (Hypapante).

How it is kept around the world

• Church candle blessings. Many churches bless the candles they will use all year, and hold a candlelit procession.
• France. On La Chandeleur, families make crêpes. People flip the first crêpe with a coin in the other hand, for luck all year.
• Mexico. On Día de la Candelaria, families eat tamales, hosted by whoever found the baby figure in the rosca de reyes. Many dress their child Jesus figure in new clothes.
• Peru and Bolivia. In Puno, Peru, a big festival honours the Virgen de la Candelaria with colourful dances. UNESCO has listed it as cultural heritage.
• The Philippines. In Jaro, Iloilo City, a big fiesta honours Our Lady of Candles, with a procession and fireworks.
• England and Germany. Candlemas was the day to take down the Christmas greenery. Old weather sayings about Candlemas helped lead to Groundhog Day in North America.

Christians differ

Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Christians keep the day, with candles, and Catholics also remember Mary in a special way on it. Lutheran and other Protestant churches may call it the Presentation of Jesus. Many other Protestant churches do not mark it. The story itself, from Luke, is read by all.

Do it together

Ages 0 to 2

• Look at a candle flame (battery) together. Say “light”.
• Hold the baby doll gently and say, “We bring you to church.”

Ages 3 to 5

• Make crêpes or pancakes with a grown-up and flip them.
• Bring a candle (battery) to a small “procession” through the house.

Ages 6 to 8

• Take down Christmas decorations together and say one thing you loved about the season.
• Learn why people bless candles and what light means in the Bible.

Ages 9 to 12

• Read Luke 2:22–40 and notice Simeon and Anna. Why does Luke tell about old people at the start of the story?
• Look up Groundhog Day and Candlemas weather sayings. Which are older?

Ages 13 to 17

• Read Simeon's song (Luke 2:29–32), which many churches sing at night prayer. What do you notice?
• Visit someone who is old or alone and listen to one of their stories.

A short prayer

Jesus, light of the world, shine in our homes and in our hearts. Help us to welcome you with joy. Amen.

Mark as done

Where this comes from

• Gospel of Luke 2:22–40
• Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson, The Origins of Feasts, Fasts and Seasons in Early Christianity (Liturgical Press, 2011)
• F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005), entries “Candlemas” and “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
• UNESCO, Festividad de la Virgen de la Candelaria de Puno, Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2014)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.