[3][4] On Candlemas, many Christians (especially Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some mainline Protestant denominations including Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists) also take their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year;[5][6] for Christians, these blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the Light of the World.

[10] The Lupercalia has frequently been linked to the presentation of Jesus at the temple, particularly by Cardinal Caesar Baronius in the 16th century[11][12] especially because of the theme of purification that the two festivals share.

[13] Pope Gelasius I had much earlier written a letter to senator Andromachus, who wanted to reestablish the Lupercalia for purification.

The so-called Gelasian Sacramentary mentions the celebration of the Presentation of Jesus, supporting the conclusion that Gelasius substituted a Christian festival for a pagan one.

[citation needed] Moreover, when Gelasius addressed Andromachus, he did not try to use his authority but contented himself to argue, for example, that the Lupercalia would no longer have the effect it once had and was incompatible with Christian ideals.

[15] After the appearance of the Virgin and its iconographic identification with this biblical event, the festival began to be celebrated with a Marian character in 1497, when the conqueror Alonso Fernández de Lugo celebrated the first Candlemas festival dedicated especially to the Virgin Mary, coinciding with the Feast of Purification on 2 February.

[19][20] Catholic churches in France, Belgium, and Swiss Romandy celebrate Candlemas (French: La Chandeleur, Dutch: Maria-Lichtmis) on 2 February.

[22] Their round shape and golden color, reminiscent of the solar disc, refer to the return of spring after the dark and cold of winter.

Depending on the proverb that one can eat by daylight on Candlemas, the time in which people worked with artificial light sources came to an end, as did when the women sat in the spinning room.

[26] Folklore has it that on this day, bears come out of their dens and if they see their shadows (because it's sunny), they get scared of it and go back to sleep, which is thought to mean that it will be cold again.

Also in Göcsej, a piece of a burning candle was placed on the navel of a patient with a bloated stomach and covered with a glass cup, because according to folklore, its extinguishing flame sucked out the disease.

[citation needed] The women of the village of Hercegszántó used to roll red, white and black yarn together with the candle.

[27] A descendant of an ancient torchlight procession, the current tradition of Liichtmëssdag in Luxembourg is a holiday centered around children.

In small groups, they roam the streets in the afternoon or evening of 2 February, holding a lighted lantern or homemade wand, singing traditional songs at each house or store, especially "Léiwer Härgottsblieschen".

In exchange for the music, they hope to receive a reward in the form of sweets or loose change (formerly bacon, peas, or biscuits).

[29] Dressing and adoration of the Christ Child and family meals with tamales on Candlemas are an important Mexican tradition.

[35] The customs of this feast is closely linked to that of the Epiphany, during which the tasting of the rosca de reyes (kings cake) will determine who is responsible for organizing La candelaria.

Whoever draws the bean on Epiphany must also prepare tamales, believed to echo Mexico's pre-Christian past with its offerings of maize.

[36] The Virgin of Candles is the patron saint of the city of Puno in Peru, held in the first fortnight of February each year.

In terms of the number of events related to the cultures of the Quechua and Aymara peoples and of the mestizos of the Altiplano, and also in terms of the number of people directly and indirectly involved in its realization, it stands with the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Carnaval de Oruro in Bolivia as one of the three largest festivals in South America.