Festival of Lights, Feast of the Presentation,
Candlemas . . .
Forty days after giving birth to a
son, every Jewish woman was required to bring an offering before the priest—a
lamb and a pigeon or turtledove if she could afford it—or two turtledoves or
pigeons if she was poor.
These animals were sacrificed to the Lord, and the woman was
declared cleansed of any impurity caused by childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8). So
forty days after Jesus was born, Mary traveled to Jerusalem with Joseph and
Jesus and offered two turtledoves, just as the law required.
An
Ancient Feast. The church celebrates this
event in Jesus’ and Mary’s life every year on February 2—forty days after
Christmas—and calls it “The Presentation of the Lord.” This is an ancient
feast, whose origins stretch back at least to the early fourth century AD. And
while its beginnings are shrouded in mystery, it has been celebrated in
different ways and under different titles for seventeen hundred years. In the
past, this feast was marked by all-night vigils, by candlelight processions,
and even by a virtual marathon of homilies delivered by the local bishop and
all the priests under him. Today, the celebration is much more modest. Some
churches have retained a modified procession with candles, but for the most
part the feast is observed with its own set of liturgical readings and prayers,
and nothing more.
What
Are We Celebrating? The Feast of the
Presentation is one of those celebrations that means more than one thing. As we
saw above, it recounts the way Mary and Joseph followed Jewish law concerning
ritual purity for a mother who had recently given birth. At the same time, the
feast recalls Mary’s encounter with Simeon and Anna, along with their prophetic
words about both her and her Son.
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