Candlemas, which falls on 2 February, right in the middle of winter, marks the end of the Christmas cycle. But what does it celebrate?

Candlemas is a religious festival held 40 days after Christmas to commemorate the presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem. In Jewish tradition, mothers had to wait for 40 days till after they gave birth to purify themselves and until then they could not present their newborn child to the religious authorities. This ritual involved offering wax candles to be blessed. It is one of the oldest festivals among all those dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the course of the year, and was introduced by Pope Gelasius in AD 496.

But, as is often the case with the festive calendar, this festival has an earlier, pagan past. Some believe it could be the heir of ancient Roman customs observed during the Parentalia festival, when there were processions with candles. But it seems that the meaning of that festival, which served to pay a kind of homage to the spirits of the deceased, was totally different.

Until recently church processions were re-enacted that were very similar to the ones Mary must have done, once the 40 days had past. Women took charge of them, especially those who had become mothers not long before, and they would carry large, brightly lit candles. So it is one of the many festivals of light that are held and people believe that the candles blessed on that day have protective powers.

For all those reasons, and because it closes the Christmas cycle, Candlemas is an important day in the festival calendar. And that is why traditional purists say neither the nativity scene nor the Christmas decorations can be taken down until that day.