#februa

Candlemas

The Presentation in the Temple by Luis de Morales (1562). Source: Public Domain/ National Catholic Register website

Today is Candlemas. Its origins lie in the Roman feast that celebrates the goddess Februa, who gave her name to the whole month. Candles were lit and torchlit processions took place as part of the festivities. The early Christians adopted the tradition (along with the candle lighting associated with Bride the previous day) and renamed the day the Purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of Jesus and marked the presentation of the infant at the Temple in Jerusalem. Much candle lighting also accompanies the Christian ceremonies.

Candlemas became one of the Welsh Quarter Days and an occasion for rural trading fairs. ‘Silver’ John Lloyd was a staple at the fair at Radnor Forest in Powys, where, in the nineteenth century, he would set bones in return for payment in silver buttons which he sewed into his coat. One day Silver John went missing and it was not until the following Candlemas Fair that he was discovered by a skater, frozen in the ice covering a nearby lake. He could not be freed from his icy prison until the thaw and an unhappy John continues to haunt the area around Llyn Hilyn. His silver laden coat was missing so foul play was assumed which probably explains his restless spirit. No one was ever charged with his murder, but a local folk song about Silver John’s demise blamed ‘the Radnor Boys’ for his killing.

Dea Februa, Februarius. (Goddess Februa, February) | 1698 engraving by Jacobus Harrewijn (Dutch, 1660--1727) | The British Museum

Februa

Februa in a Shell Pulled by Pisces Represented by Two Fish by John Samuel Agar (1808). Source: The British Museum website

The month of February was named after the Roman goddess Februa. The goddess and her male equivalent the god Februus, represented purification and the festival of Feburalia, which took place in the middle of this month, had its roots in ancient spring purification rituals. It is an open question as to which came first - the names of the gods, or the name of the festival.

February weather can vary between the mildness of early spring to vicious blizzards as the winter inflicts the last of of its ire before finally fading away into the lengthening days of March. Weather lore at this time of year reflects the capriciousness of the month:-

All months of the year

Curse a fair Februeer;

Or:-

February brings the rain

To thaw the frozen lake again;

And finally:-

If bees get out in February,

February Most Misspelled Month

That silent “r” in February makes the shortest month the most misspelled month of the year and one of the most mispronounced words in the English language. The r in February has been dropped so that it is almost always pronounced Febuary–without the r. Perhaps this is because placing the r sound in the word makes it slightly more difficult to pronounce, and since laziness tends to get the upper…