Candlemas rhyme-and a note on making butter

If Candlemas day be bright and fair,

There’ll be two winters in a year.

 

another is…..

If Candlemas be fair & bright,

winter will have another flight.

If Candlemas be cloud & rain

winter will be gone, and not come again.

 

Just a note regarding the post below about making butter in a jar, I put a marble in the jat to help agitate the cream. This helps.

Just keep shaking past the whipped crean stage, and you will get butter.

Candlemas or Brigids day- Make your own modeling wax

Since Candlemas is tomorrow, I thought I would share what we plan to do.  Since celtic legend says Bridgid has a  white fairy cow with red ears, and she is patron saint of milkmaids we will be churning our own butter in a jar that we will will have with some fresh bread at lunch or dinner. According to the legend she travels the country side with the fairy cow. People leave milk or butter out for her & some hay for the fairy cow.  I plan to tell the story of  Brigid and the King’s Wolf. We will also be hand dipping beeswax candles. We will light one at dinner. With the leftover melted bees wax we are going to make our own modeling wax with this recipe. You can find beeswax at most craft stores, and the lanolin at a natural food store or co-op.

Modeling Beeswax
Approx 1 cup of beeswax
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lanolin [do not use if you are allergic to lanolin]

Melt the beeswax in a double boiler, [add grated crayon for colour]
Mix the lanolin and the olive oil together and add to the beeswax.
Once all is melted – remove from heat and keep stirring and pour into a walled [and lined] cookie tray. Cut into pieces and leave to cool
To check consistency, warm a piece in your hand and check its pliability. If it is to hard, add lanolin or oil. If to soft add beeswax.