la candelaria . candlemas

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
(anonymous)

Si por la Candelaria buen tiempo hiciera
aún tardará mucho la primavera
pero si en tal día se pone a llover
el invierno se ha ido para no volver.
(anónimo)

We light candles in remembrance of Simeon’s song in Luke 2. God had promised Simeon would live to see the Messiah. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, Simeon goes to the temple just as Mary and Joseph are bringing Jesus in. Taking the infant in his arms, Simeon proclaims him a light to reveal God to the nations and the glory of Israel (see Luke 2:32).

Despite the Calendaria prediction, we did enjoy a very warm day yesterday - in the 50s! We pulled supplies out to the front porch for nature study (along with blankets and warm tea to keep the chill off). We discovered Audubon’s Guía de aves a few years ago and it has been a wonderful resource. We use it for identifying birds around our home and it offers a nice way to incorporate Spanish names and descriptors into our first grader’s bird study using the Burgess Bird Book.