From the Rev Liz Dawes February 2024

Rev Liz Dawes

Curate, Great Yarmouth Parrish

This February is one of quick transitions in the life of the church. We begin with Candlemas on the 2nd February which signals the end of the Christmas season and heralds the beginning of spring. It’s also the day after St Brigid’s Day and the pagan festival of Imbolc, again celebrating the beginning of spring
 
After what has felt like a long winter the emergence of snowdrops, often known as Candlemas bells will be a welcome sight. Tradition has it that if ‘Candlemas be fair and bright, winter will have another flight’, which corresponds with the North American tradition of Groundhog Day where if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and can see its shadow then there will be six more weeks of winter but if it can’t then the weather will be mild and spring early
 
No sooner are we out of Christmas season this year, because of an early Easter, in less than a fortnight we come to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. This year Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day which would usually mean that Easter Sunday falls on April Fools Day, the 1st of April, but as this is a leap year, Easter Sunday is the day before
 
If you’ve ever wondered why the date of Easter changes so much every year it’s because Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox! Lent is a season of repentance in the church which means saying sorry for the things which haven’t gone so well but, the Greek word used in the Bible for repentance, metanoia, also means ‘a turning around - a transformative change of heart, so Lent is a good time to contemplate the way things are going in life which might lead you to some kind of transformation

Revd Liz

photos courtesy of Great Yarmouth Parish

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