| The Parish Church of St James |  |
| St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003) | |
| WORSHIP/SERVICES | |
| Section Contents: Services
| Christian Year and other Special Days | Rites
of Passage | Christian Calendar | Worship
| Worship/Services Through the
Years |
|
 |
|
| The Christian Year Contents: The Christian Year and other Special Days | Colours of the Christian Year | Advent | Christmas | Epiphany | Candlemas | Lent | Easter | Pentecost | Trinity | St. James's Day | Michaelmas | Harvest Festival | All Saints Day | Remembrance Sunday |
The Christian Year - Candlemas
 |
The Presentation
of Christ in the Temple is called Candlemas. Its proper day is February
2nd, but in the Church of England it is also quite often celebrated
on the nearest Sunday. A long, long time ago, Christians finished the Christmas season on Candlemas. 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
he made his first ‘public appearance’ according to the Jewish
law at that time. According to St Luke's gospel, Mary and Joseph took
the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth.
He was acclaimed as a light to the nations and the glory of Israel. At the same time, Mary, as a new mother, was purified (made clean). This goes back to a Jewish tradition that women were considered unclean after the birth of a child and were not permitted to enter the Temple to worship. This happened either 40 days after the birth of a son or 60 days after the birth of a daughter. At the end of the 40 or 60 days, the mother was brought to the Temple or synagogue and ritually purified. |
 |
Now she could go to religious
services again and generally go out in public. So we have the Festival
of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, which also celebrates the
ritual Purification of the Virgin Mary. Jesus is described in the New Testament as the Light of the World. Early Christians developed the tradition of lighting many candles in celebration of this day and this custom is still followed today by many congregations. 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 for this point in the Christian Calendar. |
| Further Information |
|
 |
Contact
the Parish
Office 020 8941 6003 or the The
Vicar 020 8979 2069 |
 |
Associated pages on this website: Through the Years: Spire Leader (2004 February) |
 |
Links to other websites: Candlemas (BBC) |