CANDLEMAS


Meaning of CANDLEMAS in English

(February 2) In the Christian church, the celebration of the presentation of the infant Jesus and the post-childbirth purification of Mary in the Temple, in accordance with Jewish law.

The Greek church calls it Hypapante ("Meeting") in reference to Jesus' meeting there with Simeon, to whom it had been revealed that he would not die before meeting the Groundhog Day developed, in part, from the medieval tradition that certain animals interrupted their hibernation on this day.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.