proverb · Source-linked selection
When Candlemas day is come and gone, The snow lies on a hot stone.
When Candlemas day is come and gone, The snow lies on a hot stone.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Snow after Candlemas is pictured as lying on a hot stone. The image suggests a fragile or short-lived covering rather than a lasting return of winter.
What the words are saying
The hot surface makes the snow seem unable to remain. It can express hope that a seasonal change has made later cold less enduring. The saying does not establish the date when snow will stop, its actual duration or the temperature of a surface. A useful interpretation appreciates the image of temporary persistence while avoiding a forecast based on the calendar alone.
Everyday example
A reader recognises the melting image as a hopeful seasonal description, not a promise about the next snowfall.
When to use it
Use it to discuss the image of a season losing its hold.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
The saying is not a prediction of snow duration or a universal seasonal boundary.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 193 · Candlemas
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English