SI la Candelaria flora, they say in Catalonia, l'hivern es fora. It means, I am told, that "if Candlemas blossoms, winter has surely, come and gone". Today is that day, so if the sun is streaming through the window as you read, spring has surely sprung, and you may put away the winter woollies for another year. But perhaps, on further investigation, it may be better not to cast a clout as, yet. It seems that this optimistic view of good weather at Candlemas applies only in the north eastern corner of Spain, and in most cultures fair weather on this day bodes ill.
In liturgical circles, Candlemas Day, or the feast of the Purification, is noteworthy for the traditional ceremony from which it, takes its name candles area blessed for daily use in the church throughout the year. Our ancestors, however, appear to have set great store by its meteorological significance. As John Skelton, tutor to King Henry VIII, succinctly put it as long ago as 1498: "Men were wonte for to discerne by Candlemas what the wedder it should hold".
In Scotland, for example, the message was as follows:
If Candlemas Day be fair and clear, There'll be twa winters in the year.
And in England they had much the same idea, but they expressed it at somewhat greater length:
If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight;
But if Candlemas brings clouds and rain
Winter is gone and won't come again.
The French, on the other hand, wax metaphorical in their prognostications.
"The shepherd would rather see the wolf than the sun enter the fold at Candlemas" their proverb goes, while the Germans, lend a wind in the willowish gloss to their version of the story. Their legend has it that Badger creeps from his den at noon on Candlemas to see if he can find his shadow: if there is no shadow, he stays out - but if the sun, is shining Badger returns to his den and remains there for six weeks until the inevitable spell of cold, wintry weather still to come has passed away.
The more learned among the population were wont to proffer their advice in Latin:
Si sol splendescat clare,
Maria Purificante,
Major erit glacies post festum - quam fuit ante.
The message, however, is equally clear: "If the sun shines brightly on the feast of the Purification, there will be more of winter to follow than has gone before."