• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Polish Housewife

Polish recipes served up with tidbits of folklore, customs, and history

  • Home
  • Polish Recipes
    • Polish Breads
    • Polish Soups
    • Polish Mains & Sides
    • Polish Desserts
    • Polish Pantry
    • Polish Beverages & Liqueurs
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer
    • Beverage
    • Salad Dressing
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • Stew
    • Main
    • Vegetables
    • Dessert
  • About
  • Expat Life
    • Art
    • Concerts
    • Crime
    • Current Events
    • Daily life
    • Dining Out
    • Euro 2012
    • Events
    • Holidays
    • Museums
    • People
    • Pets
    • Sightseeing
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • New? Start Here
  • Store
  • Polish Cookbook

Candlemas Day in Poland and the Thunder Candle

February 2, 2018 by Lois Britton 17 Comments

For Americans, February 2nd is Groundhog Day offering a weather prediction. In Poland, many national holidays are based on the liturgical calendar. So 40 days after the birth of Jesus, we celebrate Candlemas Day in Poland and the Thunder Candle.

It commemorates the purification of Mary (in Biblical times, women were seen as impure after giving birth) and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (once the mother’s purification is complete, the grateful parents take the child to the temple to give thanks and offer sacrifices), and it marks the end of the Christmas season in Poland.

Seriously, this is the day to put away Christmas decorations. Not to worry, after Candlemas, we can begin to think about paczki! Candlemas is traditionally celebrated by the priest blessing the beeswax candles that will be used in the church during the coming year, and also blessing candles that parishioners will use in their homes.

Candlemas Day in Poland and the Thunder Candle

This has special significance in Poland because of the ancient Slavic protective ritual of the Thunder Candle. It is so significant that the holiday in Polish is ĹšwiÄ™to Matki BoĹĽej Gromnicznej 🔈, referring to the Holy Mother of God and the Thunder Candles. The ancient Thunder Candles were lit during a storm to offer protection from lightning, and also from wolves.

Thunder candles are long and thick, maybe decorated with religious inscriptions or images, fir branches, and flowers, tied with a light blue ribbon to represent Mary. Today they are used for special celebrations and blessed annually on this day to be recharged so to speak.

The candle may be a gift at birth and used at First Communion, Confirmation, Anointing, or during a vigil before someone’s death, even being buried with the owner.

And that, my dear friends, is all I know about Candlemas Day in Poland and the Thunder Candle.

Pozdrowiam,

Lois

PS — Yes, I’m taking down our Christmas tree. I just love having it up, so I’ve gladly adopted this Polish tradition!

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.

Share this...
  • email
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit

Filed Under: Daily life, Holidays

Previous Post: « Serniki MigdaĹ‚owe Polish Almond Cheesecakes
Next Post: Farmer’s Cheese Vegetable Spread »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elizabeth Beaudoin

    February 2, 2018 at 5:27 am

    Thank you Lois…..another piece of my Polish heritage that I did not know. I really like the tree portion and will adopt it next year by leaving my little one up until now to brighten these frigid days. Here in Ottawa, Canada our high will be -25 Celsius with a wind chill dropping it to -38. Sigh. Yup it’s the great frozen north but we are survivors. Can you email us some heat?????

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      February 2, 2018 at 5:52 am

      Oh my, Elizabeth! Such cold! Ed’s first winter in Poznan had similar temps, lucky for me it was a regular occurrence. We’re higher than normal this week, 25 C. Not to worry, you’ll be able to gloat this summer.

      Reply
  2. Julie Kenkel

    February 2, 2018 at 5:36 am

    Thanks for the wonderful post today. Learning some of the traditions of Poland. I really appreciate that!

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      February 2, 2018 at 5:54 am

      My pleasure, look forward to seeing you and Kevin next month!

      Reply
  3. Kuba

    February 2, 2018 at 6:34 am

    Nice to see the Polish traditions posted. Most don’t know why we have such days. Pozdrawiam.

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      February 2, 2018 at 8:42 am

      Dzięki, Kuba!

      Reply
  4. Frances Tagesen

    February 2, 2018 at 7:26 am

    I really enjoy the posts about Poland as well as the recipes. My tree is still up as I am cataloging my ornaments as I put them away until next year. But now I can tell Hubby that this is why the tree is still up.

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      February 2, 2018 at 8:41 am

      LOL, glad to provide an excuse, Frances!

      Reply
  5. MARY LEE DECKER

    February 2, 2018 at 12:30 pm

    Thank you for a tradition I didn’t know about. Maybe I need a Thunder Candle to go with the Blessed Palm that we learned to burn for storms. I still do that during bad storms.

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      February 2, 2018 at 12:36 pm

      You can’t be too protected! ❤️❤️❤️

      Reply
  6. David

    February 2, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    While I don’t celebrate Candlemas, there was the year I took my Christmas tree down on Valentine’s Day! Why rush these things? I love reading about the celebrations and traditions in Poland – thanks, Lois!

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      February 2, 2018 at 7:08 pm

      I agree why rush!

      Reply
  7. Eleanor

    February 4, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    My Mom mixed fresh cabbage with the sauerkraut, some onion, a can of tomato sauce and pork spareribs.

    Reply
  8. Lisa Clair

    March 17, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    Hi—I’m looking to buy a thunder candle for my 86 year old Polish mother. The one we had growing up is gone. Can you help me find a source? Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • polishhousewife

      March 18, 2018 at 6:33 pm

      Hi Lisa,

      I haven’t come across any sources for thunder candles in the US. Unless you know someone making a trip to Poland, you might just make your own. The key thing is the priest blessing the candle. You would bind dried flowers or greens to the candle with blue ribbon (blue for the Holy Mother). There may be others who can suggest more specific botanicals, but I’m sure they were just using what they had nearby. Blessings on you and your mother.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Https://ferrann.co/blog/como-hidratar-el-cabello/ says:
    January 21, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    https://ferrann.co/blog/como-hidratar-el-cabello/

    Candlemas Day in Poland and the Thunder Candle – Polish Housewife

    Reply
  2. Wigilia Polish Christmas Eve Recipes and Traditions - Polish Housewife says:
    December 20, 2021 at 9:19 pm

    […] will wait until February 2nd to un-decorate, for Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation the official end of the Christmas season. I’m sad to say […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Use the code POLISH15 for a 15% discount!

Welcome – Witam!

Hi, I'm Lois; welcome to Polish Housewife! Here you'll find my culinary and cultural adventures in Poland and in the USA.
Zapraszamy! Click here…

Polish recipes sent to your inbox!

* = required field

Looking for something special?

The Polish Housewife Cookbook – order your autographed copy here!

Footer

  • Privacy Policy
my photos on tastespotting
Living in Poland
my foodgawker gallery
Poland Blogs

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework