Above: earlier this evening I went to a Candlemas service at one of the central villages. The singing was exceptional and included Candlemas carols and a sung Nunc Dimittis. For a small village to produce such an event was both impressive and moving.
Above: scene at the end, when everyone was milling around chatting. The mood during the service had been serious. The whole church was lit with candles - formal candles on the altar, big candles that were being blessed and taken off to other churches, dozens of tiny candles on window ledges and every flat surface. The parish seemed to have made an effort over attendance as the little church was packed, every seat taken and people standing at the back. During Holy Communion the woman priest, in pale gold vestments, stood with her back to the congregation and held up an enormous Host which she broke with a snap that could be heard throughout the building. There was an attempt at a candle procession, but so many people were at the service that this wasn't really possible.
Candlemas is forty days after the Nativity, and marks the official end of Christmas. The period between All Souls Day (1st November) and Candlemas (2nd February) represents the darkest and dreariest weeks of the year. Throughout this bleak time the medieval church organised feasts and holy days, including the twelve days of Christmas, designed to raise people's spirits, organise communities into collective celebrations, and focus attention upon hope for the future.
Candlemas processions are mentioned by Bede, and so have been celebrated in England for at least one thousand three hundred years.
