Light & Candlemas

During the past few weeks, I thought about what brings me particular pleasure during the cold winter months, especially snow, comfort food, wool, picture books, and light.

Some of the draw I have to light during this season is, of course, for warmth. I find myself following the natural morning sunlight that streams in our living/dining room windows, to the point that occasionally the cats and I vie for space.

Other times, I will sit in front of the fireplace until I am too hot to stand it any longer.

Often, the attraction is for the sheer beauty of the light.

We have little white lights on our mantel and banister that have been there since the holidays and I cannot bear to take them down. They are so lovely.

Year-round, we have candle-lit dinners to set the stage for a relaxed evening and we keep a lovely small lamp lit in our kitchen window to guide us through the dark night.

On some nights I stand outside in awe of the brilliance of the light of the moon and its' reflection off the snow covered ground and trees.


The more I thought about what kind of light I like most and why, I remembered that we were coming up on Candlemas tomorrow. Candlemas is in general a celebration of the longer days ahead and to some, considered to be the beginning of spring. In Christian circles it is also a reminder of Jesus, "the light of the world," being presented at the temple. An explaination of Candlemas and it's various meanings can be found at the insightful blog Parenting Passageway .


In consideration of Candlemas tomorrow, we made candles from beeswax.

The boys are too young to obsorb the deeper meaning behind Candlemas, so we will simply light the candles and look forward to the unique joys of spring.