and sanctifie these Candels, prepared unto the uses of men, and health of bodies and soules, as wel on the land as in the waters." "Vouchsafe to blesse and sanctifye, and with the Candle of heavenly benediction to lighten these tapers; which we thy servants taking in the honour of thy name (whan they ar lighted) desire to beare," &c. "Here let the Candles be sprinkled with holy water." Concluding with this rubric: "When the halowyng of the Candels is done, let the Candels be lighted and distributed.” In Bishop Bonner's Injunctions (1555), we read "that bearyng of Candels on Candelmasse Daie is doone in the memorie of our Saviour Jesu Christe, the spirituall lyght, of whom Sainct Symeon dyd prophecie, as it is redde in the Churche that daye." This ceremony, however, had been previously forbidden in the metropolis: for in Stow's Chronicle we read: "On the second of February 1547-8, being the Feast of the Purification of our Lady, commonly called Candlemasse Day, the bearing of Candles in the Church was left off throughout the whole citie of London." At the end of a curious sermon entitled The Vanitie and Downefall of superstitious Popish Ceremonies, preached in the Cathedral Church of Durham by one Peter Smart, a Prebend there, July 27, 1628, printed at Edinburgh 1628, we find in "a briefe but true historicall Narration of some notorious Acts and Speeches of Mr John Cosens" (Bishop of Durham), the following: "Fourthly, on Candlemas Day last past, Mr Cozens, in renuing that Popish ceremonie of burning Candles* to the honour of our Ladye, busied himself from two of the clocke in the afternoone till foure, in climbing long ladders to stick up wax candles in the said Cathedral Church: the number of all the Candles burnt that evening was two hundred and twenty, besides sixteen torches; sixty of those burning tapers and torches standing upon and near the high Altar (as he calls it), where no man came nigh." "There is a canon," says Bourne, "in the Council of Trullus, against those who baked a cake in honour of the Virgin's lying-in, in which it is decreed, that no such ceremony should be observed, because she suffered no pollution, and therefore needed no purification." + At Ripon in Yorkshire, the Sunday before Candlemas Day, the * In Nichols's Churchwardens' Accompts in those of St Martin Outwich, London, under the year 1510, is the following article "Paid to Randolf Merchaunt, wex-chandiler, for the Pascall, the Tapers affore the Rode, the Cross Candelles, and Judas Candelles, ixs. iiijd. + The purple-flowered Lady's Thistle, the leaves of which are beautifully diversified with numerous white spots, like drops of milk, is by a beautiful poetical fancy supposed to have been originally marked by the falling of some drops of the Virgin Mary's milk on it; whence, no doubt, its name Lady's, i.e Our Lady's Thistle. Marry, a term of asseveration in common use, was originally a mode of swearing by the Virgin Mary; q.d. by Mary.-So also Marrow-bones, for the knees. I'll bring him down upon his Marrow-bones; i.e., I'll make him bend his knees as he does to the Virgin Mary. collegiate Church, a fine ancient building, was one continued blaze of light all the afternoon with an immense number of candles. The following is from Herrick's Hesperides 66 CEREMONIES FOR CANDLEMASS EVE. "Down with the Rosemary and Bayes, Down with the Misleto; Instead of Holly, now up-raise The greener Box (for show). The Holly hitherto did sway; Let Box now domineere Until the dancing Easter Day, Or Easter's Eve appeare. Then youthful Box, which now hath grace Your houses to renew, Again Grown old, surrender must his place When Yew is out, then Birch comes And many flowers beside; Green Rushes then, and sweetest With cooler Oaken boughs, Thus times do shift; each thing his turne does hold; "Down with the Rosemary, and so No one least branch there left behind: Neglected there (Maids, trust to me), So many Goblins you shall see." The subsequent Ceremonies for Candlemasse Day are also mentioned Also "Kindle the Christmas brand, and then Till sunne-set let it burne; Part must be kept wherewith to teend "End now the White Loafe and the Pye, "There is a general tradition," says Sir Thomas Browne, "in most parts of Europe that inferreth the coldnesse of succeeding winter from the shining of the sun on Candlemas Day, according to the proverbiall distich "Si Sol splendescat Mariâ purificante, Major erit glacies post festum quam fuit ante." In the Country Almanack for 1676, under February, we read— Are now expected, and esteem'd no woe; If Phœbus shews his face the second day." Martin, in his Description of the Western Islands (1716), mentions an ancient custom observed on the second of February: "The mistress and servants of each family take a sheaf of oats and dress it up in women's apparel, put it in a large basket, and lay a wooden club by it, and this they call Briid's Bed; and then the mistress and servants cry three times, Briid is come, Briid is welcome. This they do just before going to bed; and, when they rise in the morning, they look among the ashes, expecting to see the impression of Briid's club there; which if they do, they reckon it a true presage of a good crop and prosperous year, and the contrary they take as an ill omen." Candlemas candle-carrying in England was abolished by an Order of Council passed in the second year of Edward VI. ST BLAZE'S DAY. February 3. BLAZE, says Hospinian, was Bishop of Sebastia in Armenia, who, during the persecution under Diocletian and Maximian, retired into a cave, leading the life of a hermit, and wrought cures on men and beasts. Upon his discovery he was cast into prison, and, for refusing to sacrifice to Jupiter, was cruelly beaten, and finally martyred under Licinius in 316, being tormented with iron nails and tooth-combs. Sore throats were especially within the range of his healing powers. Minshew, in his Dictionary, under the word Hocke-tide, speaks of "St Blaze his Day, about Candlemass, when country women goe about and make good cheere; and, if they find any of their neighbour women a spinning that day, they burne and make a blaze of fire of the distaffe, and thereof called S. Blaze his Day." Dr Percy, in his Notes to the Northumberland Household Book, tells us: "The anniversary of St Blasius is the 3d of February, when it is still the custom in many parts of England to light up fires on the hills on St Blayse night: a custom anciently taken up, perhaps for no better reason than the jingling resemblance of his name to the word Blaze." Scot, in his Discovery of Witchcraft (1665), gives us a Charm used in the Romish Church upon St Blaze's Day, that will fetch a thorn out Ray, in his Collection of Proverbs, has reserved two relating to this day. "On Candlemass Day, throw Candle and Candlestick away: and 66 Sow or set Beans in Candlemass Waddle." In Somersetshire, Waddle means Wane of the Moon. 28 of any place of one's body, a bone out of the throat, &c., to wit, "Call upon God, and remember St Blaze." Naogeorgus has the following account— "Then followeth good Sir Blaze, who doth a waxen Candell give, I divers barrels oft have seene, drawne out of water cleare, VALENTINE'S DAY. VALENTINE was apperor Claudius about 270. VALENTINE was a presbyter of the Church who suffered martyr "It is a ceremony," says Bourne, 66 to draw lots, which they term Valentines, on the eve before Valentine never omitted among the vulgar Day. The names of a select number of one sex are, by an equal number of the other, put into some vessel; and after that, every one draws a name, which for the present is called their Valentine, and is looked upon as a good omen of their being man and wife afterwards." He adds there is a rural tradition that on this day every bird chooses its mate,* and concludes that perhaps the youthful part of the world hath first practised this custom, so common at this season. It was once thought this custom might have been the remains of an ancient practice in the Church of Rome on this day, of choosing patrons for the ensuing year (and that, because ghosts were thought to walk on the night of this Day, or about this time), and that Gallantry had taken it up when Superstition at the Reformation had been compelled to let it fall. Since that time unquestionable authority has been found to evince that the custom of choosing Valentines was a sport practised in the houses of the gentry in England as early as the year 1476. In the old Romish Calendar is the following observation on the 14th of February "Manes nocte vagari creduntur." Lydgate, the Monk of Bury, makes mention, as follows, in a poem written by him in praise of Queen Catherine, consort to Henry V.— Seynte Valentine, of custome yeere by yeere Men have an usaunce in this regioun To loke and serche Cupides Kalendere, And chose theyr choyse, by grete affeccioun ; Shakespeare, in his Midsummer Night's Dream, alludes to the old saying that birds begin to couple on St Valentine's Day -"Saint Valentine is past; Begin these wood-birds but to couple now?" Takyng theyre choyse as theyr sort doth falle : In the Catalogue of the Poetical Devises by the same poet (1602), occurs one with the title of Chusing Loves on S. Valentine's Day. Herrick has the following in his Hesperides "TO HIS VALENTINE, ON S. VALENTINE'S DAY. "Oft have I heard both Youth and Virgins say, When I shall couple with my Valentine." In Dudley Lord North's Forest of Varieties (1645), in a letter to his brother, he says: "A Lady of wit and qualitie, whom you well knew, would never put herself to the chance of a Valentine, saying that shee would never couple herselfe, but by choyce. The custome and charge of Valentines is not ill left, with many other such costly and idle customes, which by a tacit generall consent wee lay downe as obsolete." In Carolina, or Loyal Poems, by Thomas Shipman, is a copy of verses entitled "The Rescue, 1672. To Mrs D. C. whose name being left after drawing Valentines and cast into the fire, was snatcht out” "I, like the Angel, did aspire Your Name to rescue from the fire. In the British Apollo (1708) we read— "Why Valentine's a day to choose In the same work (1709)— "Question. In choosing valentines (according to custom) is not the party choosing (be it man or woman) to make a present to the party chosen? "Answer. We think it more proper to say, drawing of valentines, since the most customary way is for each to take his or her lot. And Chance cannot be termed Choice. According to this method, the obligations are equal; and therefore it was formerly the custom mutually to present, but now it is customary only for the Gentlemen." We have searched the Legend of St Valentine, but there is no occurrence in his life that could have given rise to this ceremony. Wheatley tells us that St Valentine "was a man of most admirable parts, and so famous for his love and charity that the custom of choosing Valentines upon his festival (which is still practised) took its |