February 2 is Día de Candelaria in Mexico. The Christian holiday is celebrated around the world and known by various names such as Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter. It falls exactly 40 days after Christmas and commemorates the day when Mary presented Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem for the first time. The name Día de Candelaria comes because there is a tradition of bringing candles to church on the day to be blessed as part of the celebrations.
Cultures around the world have their own way of celebrating the holiday, and to understand how Día de Candelaria is celebrated in Mexico, you must go back to Día de los Reyes (or Three Kings Day), which is on January 6th. On Día de los Reyes, Mexicans eat a Rosca de Reyes (bread of kings). It’s a round, wreath-shaped cake that is decorated with dried and candied fruits. A figurine of Baby Jesus is baked inside the rosca. Whoever ends up with the Baby Jesus in their slice of cake has to host a party for friends and family on Día de Candelaria with the preferred food being tamales. While it’s considered good luck to receive the figurine of Jesus, it’s considered bad luck if you receive the figurine and fail to provide tamales for friends and family on February 2nd.