3.  In many shops they had disappeared by Boxing Day when the sales started. Most families take them down on the 12th day of Christmas but, in olden times, Christmas lasted 40 days until February 2, which was called Candlemas

4.  People believed this day predicted the weather for the rest of the winter.  On Candlemas, they said, badgers wake from their winter sleep and look out of their sets (or burrows). If it is snowy, the badger decides winter is over and ends his hibernation. If the sun is shining, he knows there is more bad weather to come and goes back to sleep

5.  It is called Candlemas because on this day all the candles to be used in church during the coming year were brought into church and blessed.

7.  For Christians, the day also recalls the Presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple. Forty days after the birth of a Jewish boy, it was the custom to take him to the Temple in Jerusalem to be presented to God by his thankful parents. When, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple, they met an old man called Simeon. On seeing the baby Jesus, Simeon said he would be "a light to lighten the Gentiles (non-Jews) and the glory of the people of Israel".

8.  This is why Christians sometimes say Jesus is "the light of the world" and another reason for lighting candles on this day.

9.  Listen to the following reading from Lukes Gospel about Simeon.

11.  All-powerful Father, Christ your Son became man for us and was presented in the temple. May he free our hearts from sin and bring us into your presence. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen