Have you been on a road trip with children? The refrain, “are we almost there?” is as common as signs along the road.
When my children were young and could not yet understand the concept of time, let alone distance in miles, I would gesture with my hands to indicate how much longer we would be on the road.
If it was early in the trip, my arms would spread wide to indicate a long expanse. This was something they could relate to and imitate. It gave perspective to the abstract concepts of time and distance.
The question of how much longer is frequent when what’s ahead is more desired than what is happening in the moment. In other words, being strapped in a car seat – even with tapes to listen to and snacks to nibble on – did not compare with arriving to explore somewhere new.
I have noticed about this time of year, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, something starts bubbling up.
We might be thinking about and asking when spring will be here. Growing tired of cold and snow, we long for warmth and growth.
February 2nd, known as Candlemas in some church traditions and Ground hog’s day in vernacular culture, is six weeks after the solstice and six weeks before the equinox. In the church, they blessed candles for the upcoming year, preparing for celebrations ahead. And in nature, the ground hog predicts when spring will come by poking his head out of the den where he hibernated through the winter..
When skies are clear and the ground hog sees its shadow, the prediction is that spring will come in six weeks. The ground hog retreats back into its den to wait it out. If it is cloudy and there is no shadow to be seen, spring will come early that year so the ground hog comes out of its den to stay.
Both in church and in nature, it is a moment to celebrate what is coming ahead.
When we emerged from the dark on the winter solstice, we began walking towards the light of Spring, at times trudging through snow. At last on February 2nd, we are halfway there!
When I ran an early childhood center based on the LifeWays model, I chose to celebrate four festivals a year to keep it simple and sustainable. One festival a season felt like enough to make an impression on young children but not too much that it would overtax the center.
To celebrate Candlemas, we prepared ice molds by freezing water in containers. The day of the festival, we removed the frozen forms from the molds to put a candle inside and place them by the front entrance.
We lit the candles so for parents, teachers and children arriving, they would know it was a festival day. It was a day to celebrate the sunshine and snow, fire and ice, and forces of expansion and contraction. For the children, the image made an impression that needed no explanation.
When they entered, the aroma of beeswax warming in a pot was in the air. It was not only a rich sensory experience but beeswax has a purifying effect on the air.
Out will the old, in with the new – time for a breathe of fresh air!
The teachers would give each child a wooden clip with a candle wick to hold while they walked around a table with a pot of warm beeswax on one end. They sang as they went, taking turns to dip their wicks one at a time, slowly building up the beeswax to form a candle..
I can remember their eyes shining brightly while they dipped their candles. It was a gesture of walking toward spring, seeing nature come back to life. Just as the path to spring can feel long and slow, the process of making a candle takes time. And patience.
When the candles were done, they were hung to cool. Later, the children would bring them home to their parents who often reported the joy of lighting the children’s handmade candles at mealtimes.
Remembering those festivals warms my heart. I am grateful to have experienced them. On February 2nd, I will light a beeswax candle at the dinner table and mark the halfway point, sharing yearnings for spring and signs seen or felt.
The signs are subtle like a few more minutes of sun each day. Small shoots, perhaps snowdrops poking up out of the ground. Bird song. Or a feeling of energy activating the plants under the ground as we near the burst of energy and life that is spring.
But signs are there. Pay attention to them. They are bearers of hope, joy and the promise of what’s to come.
When you ask, are we almost there? Remember we are halfway there and getting closer each day.
Take a moment to light a candle and celebrate!
