The Presentation of the Lord

On February 2 — forty days after Christmas — the Church celebrates Mary and Joseph bringing the infant Jesus to the Temple to fulfill the law of purification. The aged Simeon takes him in his arms and sings the Nunc Dimittis: "A light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." From this song the day's other name, Candlemas, comes — the day of candles blessed for the year ahead.

The feast is also a meeting: the Greek name Hypapante means "encounter." In the Temple, the old covenant meets the new — Simeon and Anna, who had waited a lifetime for redemption, hold in their arms the fulfillment of every prophecy. The prophetess Anna, who had prayed in the Temple for decades, spoke of the child to all who awaited the deliverance of Jerusalem. Candlemas thus closes the Christmas cycle with an image of light carried into the world's darkness.