Presentation of Christ in Canterbury Cathedral, window n. XV, 18.
Just a quick post to say, we are only now rounding out the extended season of Christmastide.
Candlemas Day, or the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple and the Purification of the Virgin Mary, was and still is celebrated on 2nd February, exactly forty days after the birth of Christ. It was defined by a characteristic ritual where people would bring candles to the cathedral for blessing during the celebration of the Mass, before taking them around their own parishes and then keeping them all year.Β Combining old and new were constant factors of the cyclical Christmastide feast. Therefore, in celebrating the end of the festive season, people looked backwards to Christβs birth but equally forwards to his suffering on the cross. Both literally and metaphorically, Winter was carried away by Spring.
Mmm, how to make a ham last that long π€
The illustration is lovely, however, what are the two birds in the basket. Doves? 'Two turtle doves?'