and candlemas day is neatly timed to the irish holiday of February 1st, which marks the "death of winter' (May 1st, 3 months later is beginning of summer) spring is somewhere between the death of winter and the birth of summer....
as christianty came to ireland, Rome was falling.. and many pagan practices of the irish got sublimated into irish christianty. (just as roman practices did, "st Valentines day makes a pagan roman love feast that has became a christian (and then secular ) holiday.)

after the fall,(say 3 to 6 hundtred years (lets date the fall with the sacking of rome, what, 465?) irish priest and brothers (isolated from the war and destruction that was part of romes fall), came to mainland and brought back christian learning, and irish influences to christiany. (especially roman catholic christianty) No other culture (besides rome) had as much influence.

In rural places, it is also lambing time.. most lambs are born in the first week of February, (neatly timed to make spring lamb in six weeks!)


my other obsession