Candlemas Day in Prague

February 2nd is also known in the USA as Groundhog Day and marked by an entirely secular tradition, but is the Christian feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, better known as Candlemas. According to Biblical tradition, on this day Mary visited the temple in Jerusalem with Jesus in her arms to make the prescribed offering in His name. In our folk tradition, it is mainly associated with the consecration of protective candles, the so-called hromničky. It was believed that lighting one in the window would protect the house from being struck by a thunderbolt (“hrom”).

Candle-making has a long tradition in Prague. The first material for their production was naturally beeswax, and until the 14th century was used in its natural colour. Bleached wax was also known, but since it wasn’t locally available, was imported from Italy. This changed in 1342, when the Prague wax maker Jan Bavor received the first ‘wax bleaching permit’ by Royal privilege.

He had no cause to fear much competition – wax makers were few and far between, and were affiliated to the soap-makers guilds. Soap-makers co-opted candle production into their product portfolio, as we would say today. They were known as Chandlers. In addition to wax, they used tallow to make them, thus angering the butchers’ guild, which also claimed this production as theirs. In the early 19th century, the largest tallow candle factory in the Czech lands stood in Prague; owned by L. A. Löwy.

Today, Prague has its own designer candles, made from strictly natural materials. Indeed, you can buy a collection of luxury candles from the Beauty Guru workshops run by the Janošík couple, available through our e-shop.

No article about Hromnice would be complete if we did not mention when and where the first lightning rod was installed in Prague, which undermined the hromnička candle as a protector. It was on 7 December 1776 and found its place on the roof of the now defunct Vyšehrad armoury (which stood on the site of the current park now adorned with four statues by the sculptor Myslbek, best known for the St Wenceslas statue in front of the National Museum).

There’s one more curiosity to do with Hromnice. This day of the year has the most folk tales associated with it. People have been passing down centuries of experience concerning the weather and what it portends, by way of simple, often rhymed snippets of popular lore. But even this folk wisdom met its scientific match when regular meteorological readings and weather records began in Prague’s Klementinum. It all started in 1752, but became a continuous series from 1775 onward.

Candlemas is just days away, so don’t forget to get your candle. Why not get one from our e-shop.