Candlemas

CANDLEMAS EVE
Down with the rosemary, and so Down with the bays and mistletoe; Down with the holly, ivy, all, Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall, That so the superstitious find, No one least branch there left behind, For look, how many leaves there be, Neglected there maids trust to me, So many goblins you shall see.
"Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve" by Robert Herrick (1591–1674),
or Down with the rosemary and bays, Down with the misletoe; Instead of holly, now up-raise The greener box, for show. The holly hitherto did sway; Let box now domineer, Until the dancing Easter-day, Or Easter's eve appear. Then youthful box, which now hath grace Your houses to renew, Grown old, surrender must his place Unto the crisped yew. When yew is out, then birch comes in, And many flowers beside, Both of a fresh and fragrant kin, To honour Whitsuntide. Green rushes then, and sweetest bents, With cooler oaken boughs, Come in for comely ornaments, To re-adorn the house. Thus times do shift; each thing his turn does hold; New things succeed, as former things grow old.
"Ceremonies upon Candlemas Eve" by Robert Herrick (1591–1674),

"Eve of Candlemas" the mere title drips of witches & devil worshipers dancing around a candle lit altar deep in the vaults of a ruined desecrated church where the victim, usually a beautiful young virgin dressed in a long white lacy gown is about to be offered to some unutterable demon as a sacrifice using of course the very old and sacred dagger weilded by the High Priest. Well as the Robert Herrick poem, points out (rather boringly one thinks) it the was the day on which the Christmas decorations of greenery were removed from people's homes as traces of berries, holly and other pieces of plant adornments would bring death among the congregation before another year is done. One tradition holds that anyone who hears funeral bells tolling on Candlemas will soon hear of the death of a close friend or relative, and each toll of the bell represents a day that will pass before the unfortunate news is learned.
It would seem that Candlemas was also the gatekeeper in prediction of future weather conditions, in the U.K. good weather at Candlemas is taken to indicate severe winter weather later as in this little ditty ---
"If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, winter will have another bite. If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter is gone and will not come again.".
It is also alleged to be the date that bears emerge from hibernation to inspect the weather as well as wolves, who if they choose to return to their lairs on this day is interpreted as meaning severe weather will continue for another forty days at least.

In the United States and Canada, Candlemas evolved into Groundhog Day celebrated on the same date warning that if the grounghog sees his shadow, there will follow six weeks of bad weather. At the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore center has an entry from Morgantown, Berks County, Penn storekeeper James Morris' diary dated 4 February 1841 stating "Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

Scottish folklore, refers to a serpent coming out of the mound on Latha Fheill Bride, as the Scots call Candlemas. This rhyme is still used in the West Highlands and Hebrides. "Early on Bride's morn, the serpent will come from the hollow I will not molest the serpent, nor will the serpent molest me" and, "The serpent will come from the hollow on the brown day of Bride Though there should be three feet of snow on the flat surface of the ground". Now not having a University education I have to state that although vague it I think seems to make some sort of weather prediction.

In France, wait for it! Candlemas (French: La Chandeleur) is celebrated with crêpes, which must be eaten only after eight p.m. If the cook can flip a crêpe while holding a coin in the other hand, the family is assured of prosperity throughout the coming year.

In Southern and Central Mexico, Candlemas (Spanish: Día de La Candelaria) is celebrated with Tamales.(a tamale is a dumpling made of masa (hominy flour) dough filled with meats, vegetables, cheese, nuts or fruits, and then steamed in a natural wrapper typically a corn husk or banana leaf). Tradition indicates that on January 5, the night before Three Kings Day (the Epiphany), whoever gets one of the dolls (originally coins) buried within the Rosca de Reyes (note:The tradition comes from the South of France, few centuries ago. At the beginning people used to present gifts to the “Baby Jesus” and mostly consisted of dried fruits, nuts, flour, honey, eggs and others. To commemorate the Epiphany, they took some of those gifts and baked a sweet roll with the shape of a crown, (Rosca de Reyes or King's Cake), remembering the Magi or Three Wise Men (Kings from the East) that went to adore the Baby Jesus. The story says the Kings were looking for the baby, which is why the baby dolls are inside the Rosca de Reyes to look for it.The one who finds the King doll has to find during the feast, the one who has the Baby doll and both have to make a party on the 2nd of February (Dia de la Candelaria or Candlemas Day), inviting all the guests that are present and offer them tamales and Mexican hot chocolate.

Sailors are often reluctant to set sail on Candlemas Day, believing that any voyage begun then will end in disaster — given the frequency of severe storms in February, this is not entirely without some sense.

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