The Parish Magazine February 2026

PARisH NOTICEBOARD — 2
Candlemas
The Presentation of Christ
In past centuries, the 40 days
of the Christmas season ended
on Candlemas which falls on the
second day of February.
In New Testament times 40 days
after the birth of a boy marked an
important day for the child.
It was when the baby made its
first ‘public appearance'.
Consequently, Mary, like all good
Jewish mothers, went to the Temple
with Jesus, her first male child in
order to ‘present him to the Lord’. At
the same time, as a new mother, she
would be ‘purified’.
THE LIGHT
Thus, this month the Christian
Church celebrates with the Festival
of the Presentation of Christ in the
Temple which in modern times is
known as Candlemas, a term which
gets its name because in the New
Testament Jesus is described as the
Light of the World.
At the early celebrations many
Christians developed a tradition of
marking the day by lighting large
numbers of candles.
The Church also fell into a
custom of blessing the year’s supply
of candles for the church on this
day, hence Candlemas.
NUNC DIMITTIS
The story of how Candlemas
began can be found in the Gospel of
Luke 2:22-40.
Simeon’s great declaration of
faith and recognition of who Jesus
was is of course found in the Nunc
Dimittis, which is embedded in the
Office of Evening Prayer in the West.
But in medieval times, Nunc
Dimittis was only used on this day
during the distribution of candles
before the Eucharist. Gradually it
became part of the daily prayer life
of the Church.
The Nunc Dimittis, which is also
known as the Song of Simeon, is a
canticle taken from the Gospel of
Luke, 2: 29-32.
Its Latin name came from the
opening words, of the Vulgate
translation of the passage, meaning
'Now you let depart'.
The Parish Magazine — February 2026 7
How to make your Christingle
You will need:
— a responsible adult to help you!
— one orange
— one candle
— four cocktail sticks
— red ribbon
— dried fruit or sweets
— a pin to hold the ribbon in place
— a small piece of aluminium foil
— scissors
Ask an adult to cut a thin slice off
the bottom of the orange so that it
stands firmly on a flat surface, and to
make a hole in the top of the orange
large enough for the candle, but don't
push the candle into the hole yet
Wrap the ribbon around the middle
of the orange and fix it in position
with the pin.
Cut the aluminium foil with
the scissors to cover the top of the
orange and press the foil into the
hole so that it makes a small saucer
to catch any candle wax that drips off
when the Christingle is lit.
Push the candle into the top of
the orange where the foil is and make
sure that it is held firmly in place.
DO NOT LIGHT THE CANDLE YET!
Put the dried fruit or your
favourite sweets on three of the
cocktail sticks and leave the fourth
one empty!
Push the cocktail sticks into the
orange so that your Christingle looks
like the one in the picture above but
DO NOT LIGHT THE CANDLE YET!
FOR YOUR PRAYERS
DURING FEBRUARY . . .
— The Children's Society
— The new Archbishop of Canterbury
— Plans for our new Youth Charity
— Christians in Iran
Bring your unlit Christingle to
the Family Service at St Andrew's
Church at 10.30am on Sunday
1 February and it will be lit for you.
After the service you can eat the
sweets and fruit!
This is what your Christingle means:
— The orange represents the world
that God created for us all to enjoy.
— The red ribbon indicates the love
and blood of Christ.
— The dried fruits and sweets are
symbols of the fruits of the earth
God created for us all.
— The four sticks represent all the
people of the earth
— The lit candle is Jesus, the light
of the world, who shines in even the
darkest corners of our lives.
Naturablichter, Dreamstime.com