Candlemas Question

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Our Priest announced that next weekend is Candlemas and invited us to bring a candle to be blessed which we can then use in our homes. I’ve never seen this before and have searched it a bit on this site. What type of candle should I bring? Does your parish do this? Thanks.
 
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Candlemas is typically celebrated in traditional parishes. Very few OF parishes do anything with it. It’s nice that your parish is doing it. I wish some of my parishes would because I guarantee you unless I drive to the EF parish, I will hear naught about it.

Traditionally the candles used would be beeswax candles that one gets at Catholic gift shops. The idea was to have enough blessed candles to use during the year.
I think the beeswax candles were also preferred because unlike tallow candles they didn’t smoke up the place.
I’m guessing that if you’re going to an OF parish you can just bring any ol’ candle.
 
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Also, it is the Purification of the BVM. (have a vague memory of throats being blessed)
 
St. Blaise (Feb. 3 on the Latin calendar) is when you get your throat blessed, not the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord.
 
Traditionally, beeswax candles but as @Tis_Bearself posted, any candle will do. I wouldn’t recommend candles in jars (e.g. Yankee Candle) because once they’re blessed, you can’t throw them out. You have to either put the leftover wax in the fireplace and melt it or bury it in the ground.

One year our kid’s catechism class made beeswax candles to be blessed for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. (That was a long time ago.)
 
The reason why I remember is that when I was in college (a long, long time ago in the last millennium) is that our chaplain would have the blessing of throats on the Feast of St. Blaise.

Now on the Byzantine calendar, Feb. 3 is the Feast of Sts. Simeon and Anna (who were mentioned in the Gospel on Feb. 2). The Song of Simeon aka Nunc dimittis (Now dismiss, O Lord…) is part of Vespers in the Byzantine Tradition and part of Compline in the Latin Tradition.

Signing off now. It’s 11:45 and I have Liturgy in the morning. Good night!
 
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The priest this evening said next weekend candles will be blessed at the parish. Also next weekend there will be a general blessing of throats and on Monday individual blessing of throats. It’s Ordinary Form Church and Masses.
 
It will be the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Candlemas, is the official ending of all the Christmas and Epiphany festivities (seen often in EF celebrations). It is nice to see that some parish’s are celebrating this. 😃

The week following Candlemas will then enter into Septuagesima (EF) approximately seventy days and less than 60 days before Easter. (haven’t yet counted) Preparation for lent then begins.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Very few OF parishes do anything with it.
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We will be having the blessing of the candles and procession next weekend.

I ordered a 4 day votive candle for every family and will also have our parish candles blessed.

And people can bring from home if they like.
Dlee said:
What type of candle should I bring?
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You can bring any sort of devotional or votive candles.
Tis_Bearself said:
Traditionally the candles used would be beeswax candles
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This is definitely true for altar candles, but people can bring other sorts to be blessed for devotional use.
Dlee said:
Does your parish do this?
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Yes, we are doing it this year because it’s on a Sunday. We don’t get to do it often because we share a priest with other parishes and don’t have daily mass every day, so it just depends on timing.
 
Basically the next day, probably that’s the reason for the association.
 
I will say I was a bit let down tonight at the blessing of the candles. The Priest said a blessing and we all raised our hands in unison. I had my Advent Candles in my lap and an older lady was trying to get one out of her purse. I don’t know if anyone else had candles.
 
DW and I just brought our candles home with us from the OF mass. Blessed by Father and sprinkled with holy water.

Take that, evil one!
 
Dlee said:
What type of candle should I bring?
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Preferably one that does not burn on both ends? 🤣 🤣

It appears that any number of candles will do. Short of a liturgical supply house, beeswax candles may be available, likely at an exorbitant price (still). and most likely will not be solid, but rather made from beeswax that has been made in a mold, for the use in apiaries (that is, it is a sheet with a 6-sided imprint, and is then rolled up). As such, it will have a short burn time.
 
otjm said:
Preferably one that does not burn on both ends? 🤣 🤣
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Such good advice! You made me chuckle. I stopped at our local Catholic Religious Store two times and they were closed. I ended up taking my new Advent Candles which are not beeswax. But come Advent, I’ll be ready 🙂
 
Dlee said:
I will say I was a bit let down tonight at the blessing of the candles. The Priest said a blessing and we all raised our hands in unison. I had my Advent Candles in my lap and an older lady was trying to get one out of her purse. I don’t know if anyone else had candles.
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If you want the full monty candle blessing, best to go to a Traditional Latin Mass parish (where they will also enforce the “candles must be beeswax” rule).
 
Tis_Bearself said:
If you want the full monty candle blessing, best to go to a Traditional Latin Mass parish
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We had the blessing of the candles using the solemn procession in the OF.
Tis_Bearself said:
where they will also enforce the “candles must be beeswax” rule
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Altar candles must be beeswax.

Personal devotional candles are not required to be beeswax and there is nothing to prevent them being blessed at candlemas.
 
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