A Celebration of Candlemas at Adam Mickiewicz Library

Fullscreen capture 1282014 10731 PM

The Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle is celebrating the official ending of the Christmas season in the Polish tradition on Saturday, Feb 1 at 8pm. Brodway Bob will also be there with predictions for spring. They will have lite fare…tomatoe soup, kluski, and kanapki along with Zubrowka specials.

There will also be candles available to take to Mass the next day!

What is Candlemas:

For people of Polish descent who faithfully observe their ethnic customs, it is the last day of the Christmas Season. This holy time of year always comes to an end with a very important Church Feast, The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. On this special day we commemorate Mary and Joseph bringing the child Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for the first time, 40 days after His birth. According to the ancient Law of Moses, every Jewish mother was excluded from attendance at public worship for 40 days after giving birth to a boy child. Mary fulfilled this command of the law by presenting two pigeons as a sin offering and through the paryers of a priest was pruified from the ritual uncleanliness associated with childbirth. This feast day, therefore, was formerly called the Purification of Mary.

Today the feast is commonly known as Candlemas Day because of the blessing of candles which takes place at the beginning of Mass. The lighted candles are carried in procession in church to remind us that it is Jesus Christ who is the true Light of the World, a Revelation to all the nations and the glory of the People of Israel.

In Poland this day is called Matki Boskiej Gromnicznej which is translated literallly as Mother of God of the Thunder Candle. The candles blessed this day are called gromnicy or thunder candles because they are kept in the home for use especially in time of thunderstorms to protext the house from being hit by lightning. They are  also a protection against other natural calamities such as floods, fire and drought. The blessed candles are also lit at the bedside of the dying to protect the individual from Satan, and to light the way to heaven. It was believed by many that at the time of death there was a contest for the soul of the dying between angels and the devil.

(Above is courtesy of The Catholic Gene, click here to visit the website—>)

Located at 612 Fillmore Avenue, the Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle does a great job to help keep these traditions ALIVE!

Visit them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adam-Mickiewicz-Library-Dramatic-Circle-Inc/71151812526


Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.