Two Turtledoves

During the season of Epiphany the church observes the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple which is described in Luke 2: 22-40. According to the Gospel, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after His birth in obedience to the Law of Moses to complete Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth and to perform the redemption of the firstborn. The custom required a sacrifice and since Mary and Joseph were poor and could not afford a lamb they chose the option of presenting a pair of turtledoves. In Christian symbolism, turtledoves also represent purity and as part of the twelve days of Christmas they refer to the Old and New Testaments.