The birth of a baby is a time of excitement and celebration.  The stories of the Birth of Jesus suggest that it must also have been a time of some anxiety for his parents – and there are always legal requirements to be met.  Two thousand years ago in Israel these included a visit to the Temple in Jerusalem for the ‘purification’ of the mother and the ‘presentation’ of the child (especially the first-born male) to God.  This is the event pictured in one of the windows in St Mary’s Chapel.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is seen presenting the child to a priest in the Temple while her husband Joseph is carrying a cage with two young pigeons for the necessary sacrifice.  The episode is described in chapter two of St Luke’s  Gospel from which the words ‘to present him to the Lord’ are quoted under the picture.  Behind the screen are Anna, an aged and very devout woman, and an old man, Simeon, with whom is associated the ancient hymn called ‘Nunc Dimittis’ (Lord, now let your servant go in peace) which is still regularly sung in many churches.  A phrase from the hymn, ’a light to lighten the Gentiles’ gives rise to the name ‘Candlemas’ for the commemoration of this event 40 days after Christmas (on 2nd February).

The window was created in 1899 by Christopher Whall from London and has been described as one of the finest Arts and Crafts windows in Scotland.  It was given by friends who had been associated with him in the late Victorian restoration of the Chapel in honour of Dr James Cooper and to mark his semi-jubilee as a minister, including 18 years in the East Kirk