proverb · Source-linked selection
On Candlemas day you must have half your straw and half your hay.
On Candlemas day you must have half your straw and half your hay.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying advises keeping half the straw and hay at Candlemas. It makes a calendar point a check on whether provisions remain for later use.
What the words are saying
The retained half gives resource planning a memorable fraction. It can encourage reviewing what is left before assuming a supply will last. The exact proportion is not established here as suitable for any farm or season. A useful analogy considers remaining needs, actual consumption and uncertainty rather than treating one date as sufficient reason to keep a fixed amount.
Everyday example
A group compares its remaining materials with the work still planned instead of relying only on how full the store once was.
When to use it
Use it to reflect on reviewing provision partway through a period of need.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
The fraction and date are not verified agricultural or resource-planning advice.
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 191 · Candlemas
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English