Candlemas Tradition

As the days begin to get longer, one can feel the vibrations of life begin to stir in expectation of Spring. This means this will be the last blogpost in our Self-Care in the Winter series. 

We have spoken about Ayurvedic practices, creating warmth, the permission to slow down, approaching the new year; and for our last topic, we will talk about integrating the wisdom of celebrations in winter into our personal practice. 

Each season has its own celebrations and festivals that are in line with the balance of nature and human needs. Winter is the season of hearth and home and, as such, the festival life corresponds with that.

I am sure your family has its own traditions for the larger holidays such as Christmas or the New Year, however I would like to shed light on a holiday that you may know less about, Candlemas. 

I learned about this holiday while living in an intentional community that had originated in Europe. There were many holidays being observed that have been forgotten about here in the Americas, which has replaced Candlemas with Groundhog Day. 

This day has many connections to the past. Some say it is to be celebrated 40 days after the birth of Christ, the day in which he was presented in temple and it was said that he was “The light of the world”. Others trace this day back to the Pagan tradition of Imbolc. 

My understanding of Cadelmas is that this was a day when each family would go check their stock of candles left for the year to determine if they had enough light to make it through the rest of the season. If not, the family members would gather and make more candles to last them the year. 

You can celebrate this festival however you wish. You can visit Mass for procession, eat traditional crepes for dessert, or you can also take this holiday in its most literal sense of having the physical aspect of light in the home. 

Our family has the tradition of lighting a candle for dinner each night as a way of cultivating a connection to this warming element. I find this to be an especially beneficial practice in the winter months. To celebrate this holiday each year, we make our own candles. 

Some years, we collect all the leftover candle snubs to melt down and make new candles, other years, we have decorated candles. This year, we will make small candles out or sheets of wax that we will roll with a wick in the center. Each year it is about manifesting the festival based off of our collective resources as a family. 

To take this gesture of light a step further would be to apply it to your personal growth and development. It becomes a time to inquire about your light within. 

Do you have the reserves to make it through these dark months? Do you allow your light to shine out into the world? I find it best to do this work through meditation or journaling; and so, I will give you some prompts below to work with in the medium of your choosing. If this work seems poignant to you, if you come beck with the realization that your inner light is nothing more than burning embers struggling to stay lit, then please reach out today and we will start your Mindful Tradition. 

Prompts for reflecting on Candlemas

 1) Find a comfortable seated position, lift tall through the crown of the head, melt the shoulders down the back body, and let the hands come to rest comfortably on the thighs.

2) Begin to take deep, mindful breaths in and out of the nose. Elongate the exhales until they are twice as long as the inhales.

3) Begin to imagine your inner light right in the center of your heart. Is it bright and shining? Or is it struggling to stay lit? Sit with your light for some time without judgment. Rather, let a mode of inquiry and compassion guide you.

4) Ask yourself: What is feeding your light? What does it need more of to radiate out into the world? Tell your light you need it to guide you in this life. If you have not been tending to it, apologize and give it your commitment, moving forward.  

5) Either stay here as long as you need to in this connective meditative state, or transition to journaling for as long as needed. Return to this exercise whenever your light needs tending to, or once a year for Candlemas.