After the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Church turns her eyes away from the crib and towards the cross. While the beginning of Lent is on a different day each year, it is typically very close to the memorial of St. Blaise and his martyrdom reminds us of the events that we will commemorate shortly.
Here is a prayer from Dom Prosper Gueranger in his Liturgical Year that asks for St. Blaise's intercession to prepare for Lent.