February 02
Candlemas Day
(la Chandeleur, Fête de la Lumière, Crêpe Day)
 

Candlemas Day (or Le Chandeleur as the French call it) and St. Valentine's Day (February 14) were both designed to replace the Roman feast of Lupercalia, a fertility feast that involved a symbolic purification of the land. Goats and dogs were sacrificed and their skins were cut into whips. The priests, called Luperci, would run naked through the streets, beating everyone they saw with their whips - a custom still practiced in San Francisco. The word "February" derives from the Latin februa which means "expiatory offerings" and designates the month as a time for purification. Candlemas is also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin because, under Mosaic law, a mother who had given birth to a boy was considered unclean for seven days; moreover she was to remain for thirty-three days "in the blood of her purification." The religious purification ceremonies became known as "churching of women."
		The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple by Fra Angelico

The gospel of Luke relates that Mary was purified according to the religious law, followed by Jesus' presentation in the Jerusalem temple where he was brought before Simeon who declared him to be "the Light of the World."  This is a natural tie in to the term "Candlemas" which refers to the practice of the blessing by a priest of the church's beeswax candles with an aspergillum (a liturgical wand) for use during the year, after which some of the candles are distributed to the faithful for use in the home. In the Middle Ages, blest candles were thought to chase the evil demons away thereby protecting a home

Since Candlemas day was a major Christian feastday, it was celebrated with ritualistic foods. In France and in Quebec. Canada, la Chandeleur (Fête de la Lumière, or Crêpe Day) is still celebrated with the traditional crêpes which are eaten for good luck. One popular la Chandeleur custom is to hold a golden coin in one hand and flip the crêpes with the other to ensure good luck for the future or bad luck if you drop the crêpe  The only recorded incident of Napoléon cooking took place on la Chandeleur at Malmaison when he found the superstitious Josephine in the kitchen making crêpes.  Napoléon laughed at her superstition and took over at the stove, flipping the crêpes in the air like flapjacks. To Josephine's horror, the fifth crêpe dropped on the floor which was a portend of bad luck. Years later when Napoléon was watching Moscow burn, he said, "There's my fifth crêpe that avenges itself."

The crêpes are usually spread with jam and butter, rolled up and eaten with the fingers. The only exception to this practice is in Marseilles where the feast is celebrated with cookies called navettes de la chandeleur (Candlemas boats) in the shape of boats that allegedly brought Mary Magdalene to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in France about the year 40 AD. The Four des Navettes, beside the Abbaye de Saint-Victor, has been baking these navette continuously since 1781.Thousands of the cookies are eaten on the Fête de la Chandeleur (Candlemas procession) every February 2.

There are many French proverbs and sayings for la Chandeleur that reflect the popular groundhog day predictions the US .

À la Chandeleur, l'hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur
On Candlemas, winter ends or strengthens

À la Chandeleur, le jour croît de deux heures
On Candlemas, the day grows by two hours

Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte
Candlemas covered (in snow), forty days lost

Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure
Dew on Candlemas, winter at its final hour
 

Candlemas Crêpes
 

Ingredients
 

1. Place flour, milk, sparkling water, eggs, and salt in a food processor fitted with a meta! blade. Process for 10 seconds. Check that all of the flour has been dissolved and that none of it is sticking to sides. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Lightly butter  crêpe pan. Place over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles when dropped on the pan. Pour about 3 TB crêpe batter on pan, tilting pan so that the batter covers surface. Cook over medium heat for about 30 seconds or until edges begin to brown. Turn crêpe over and cook for another 15 - 20 seconds. Remove from heat and place crêpe on cake rack to dry. Repeat procedure.
3. When crêpes are cooked, carefully spread surface lightly with soft butter, and then with a thin layer of jam. Roll up crêpe and place on serving plate. Repeat procedure. When all crêpes are rolled up, sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve.

Makes 12 crepes
 

Navettes de la Chandeleur
(Christmas Boats)
 

1. Cream sugar, butter, and salt in a bowl. Add egg and beat well. Add flour and nuts and beat well. Kneed dough on a floured board until smooth and elastic.
2. Form dough in the palm of your hands into small balls about the size of a walnut. Roll balls into little logs about 1&1/2" long. Place on buttered cookie sheet. Take a sharp knife and slit rolls about half way down and leaving the ends closed, like forming a canoe. Cover with towel and let rest in a warm place for 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350º F.
4. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies