February 2nd is Groundhog Day in North America, but it is also Candlemas, which is celebrated by lighting many candles to chase the winter away.  Christmas seems long past, yet there is a traditional connection.  By this day:

By February 2nd in the northern hemisphere, days are lengthening and winter is retreating.  Although the Christmas tree traditionally should be taken down by Twelfth Night (the night of January 5th), other greenery can be left up until Candlemas.