Candlemas Day it shall be declared that the bearing of candles is
done in memory of Christ the spiritual light, whom Simeon did
prophesy, as it is read in the Church on that day." Christmas
decorations were removed from the houses; the holly, rosemary, bay,
and mistletoe disappeared, to make room for sprigs of box, which
remained until Easter brought in the yew. Our ancestors were very
fond of bonfires, and on the 3rd of this month, St. Blaize's Day,[4]
the red flames might be seen darting up from every hilltop. But why
they should do this on that day is not evident, except that the good
Bishop's name sounded something like _blaze_, and perhaps that was
quite a sufficient reason! And why the day of St. Valentine should
have been selected for the drawing lots for sweethearts, and for the
sending affectionate greetings, is another mystery. St. Valentine
was a priest and martyr in Italy in the third century, and had
nothing to do with the popular commemoration of the day.

Now we come to the diversions of Shrove-tide,[5] which immediately
precedes the Lenten Fast. The Monday before Ash Wednesday was called
Collop Monday in the north, because slices of bacon (or collops)
were the recognized dish for dinner. But on Tuesday the chief
amusements began; the bells were rung, pancakes tossed with great
solemnity, and devoured with great satisfaction, as an old writer,
who did not approve of so much feasting, tells us--

"In every house are shouts and cries, and mirth and revel rout,
And dainty tables spread, and all beset with guests about."

He further describes this old English carnival, which must have
rivalled any that we read of on the Continent--