Candles and weather
Candlemas Day is a special day when church candles are blessed. At one
time, the people then carried lighted candles around the church. This
custom goes back to the Romans, when people paraded with lighted candles
at this time of year.
The Roman custom comes from a story in both Greek and Roman mythology.
In the story told by the Greeks, Demeter, the goddess of farming, had a
beautiful daughter named Persephone. Hades, god of the Underworld, fell
in love with Persephone and carried her off. With lighted candle,
Demeter roamed the world in search of her daughter.
While Persephone was with Hades, all the world turned cold and barren.
Nothing would grow. Finally, Zeus, the king of the gods, arranged for
Persephone to return to her mother for part of the year. Persephone’s
return was a sign of spring. The Greeks and Romans used this myth to
explain the seasons.
People in many countries have long thought of Candlemas Day in terms of
the coming of spring. An old British rhyme tells of this hope for a
change in the weather:
If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight; But if
it is dark with clouds and rain, Winter is gone and will not come again.
