Candlemas Story - February 2nd
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If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight. If Candlemas brings cloud and rain, Winter won’t come again. |
There once was a dear old farmer who had been caring for his land, seeing it change and grow for many, many years. He loved his fields and would work on them from sunrise to sunset in the Spring, Summer and Fall. He would even visit his fields in the Winter when they were covered with frost and snow, and all was quiet.
There was one particular Winter morning that he would always go into his fields to watch the sky and watch the ground. Candlemas Day. The day that was as many days from Winter Solstice (the longest day of darkness) as the days yet to come before Spring Equinox (the day of the same amount of lightness and darkness). On this Candlemas morning, he slowly woke from his bed singing to himself:
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas brings cloud and rain,
Winter won’t come again.
He walked over to his window and looked out into the field. It was still dark outside and little was to be seen. He got himself dressed and gathered his jacket, boots, toque and gloves, and then walked to his field.
Last year when he went into his fields on Candlemas Day, the sky was blue, blue and not a cloud was in sight. And indeed Winter was long, very long.
The year before that, when he went into his fields on Candlemas Day, the rain had come making puddles on the ground. And indeed Spring that year came early so that he could plant his seeds before all the birds came back. This year, he wondered what would Candlemas bring.
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas brings cloud and rain,
Winter won’t come again.
As the sun rose from the horizon, bringing warm colours of yellow, orange and pink across the sky, the farmer looked, watched and waited. He stood in his field for a long time watching the sky, he saw ____________ (describe the weather of Feb. 2nd). And he nodded to himself, knowing that this year (Winter would be extra long OR Winter would end soon & Spring was on its way).
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas brings cloud and rain,
Winter won’t come again.
And then he bowed to the earth and gave thanks to the sky, and turned to return home to see if his wife was already in the kitchen making candles for the family. As he entered the kitchen, he could already smell the warm, sweet smell of the beeswax cooking on the stove, and hear his wife singing.
Quiet, quiet, do not make a sound
holding now the string so tight,
We will make some winter light
Quiet, quiet do not make a sound
Dipping, dipping, candles smooth and round
Holding now the string so tight,
we will make some winter light,
Quiet, quiet do not make a sound
He watched quietly as she dipped/rolled the candles. She was making the candles for the year. She did this every year, so that there would be enough winter light for the whole year through. As she finished the very last one, she made a special wish for her whole family- for her son, her daughter, her husband the Farmer and one for herself too.
Quiet, quiet, do not make a sound
holding now the string so tight,
We will make some winter light
Quiet, quiet do not make a sound
