MEETING OF THE LORD - Meeting (or Presentation or Reception) of the Lord. Forty days after Christmas, on the second of February, the Church celebrates the feast of the presentation. Forty days after Christ was born he was presented to God in the Jerusalem Temple according to the Mosaic Law. At this time as well his mother Mary underwent the ritual purification and offered the sacrifices as prescribed in the Law.

It is customary in many churches to bless candles on the feast of the Meeting of the Lord.