Candlemas Festival: For food lovers!

Candlemas

At Candlemas, we eat pancakes. But why ?

La Chandeleur: between pagan and Christian celebration

First of all, what is La Chandeleur? It is a festival of pagan origin aimed at welcoming the arrival of spring and therefore the return to crops and the harvest. On this occasion, the peasants walked through their fields with candles to make the land and the crops to come grow.

Subsequently, it became a Christian religious holiday which corresponds to the presentation of the child Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, 40 days after his birth. The name “Candlemas” given to this event refers to the candles that illuminated the Temple on this occasion and to the candlelight processions of peasants.

Why Candlemas pancakes?

That’s it, the scene is set! But, you will ask me, what is the relationship with the fact of eating pancakes that day? Nothing very obvious in reality, except that at this time of the year, it was advisable to finish its reserves of flour to prevent it from molding. Traditionally and to finish its stocks, we prepared pancakes or other pancakes. The pancake, round and golden, was also considered a sun sign and predicted the return of the sun and prosperity.

This custom continues today in many countries or communities. The relationship between the Candlemas festival and the preparation of pancakes is therefore apparently only a coincidence of date and period and refers to certain superstitions linked to the pagan or religious of that time.

Now it’s up to us to put ourselves in the kitchen to keep this tradition alive. So, to your pans and sauté your pancakes and your recipes!

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Photo credit : studioM via depositphotos.com

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