From Sunup to Sundown
We take them for granted. They have been around for more than 5,000 years. Depending on your perspective, they gave civilization leisure or simply more time to work. Days were no longer sun-up to sun-down. The earliest candles, fire on a stick, allowed exploration and dispelled fear of the dark. Used nearly universally in religious rites, they gave a visual to guiding light.
Tallow, insects, some nuts and a few fruits – including bayberry – have been the mainstays of the chandler. Beeswax is ever popular for clean-burning and pleasantly scented light. Whale oil, stearic acid (from animal fat) and paraffin were most common in recent years.
Some of the first alarm clocks were candles. Nails were embedded into the sides of a candle sitting on a metal plate. It was an art to manufacture a candle that burned at a predictable rate. When the candle burned down to the embedded nail, it fell to the plate and woke the sleeper.
Then came the light bulb, a cold, economical, and convenient, steady light.
From such monumental purposes, from shaping civilizations, candles have fallen to being simply ornamental. They symbolize a celebration (birthday?), ignite romance, soothe the senses, honor a ceremony (in a church?), and accent home décor. Now we melt them down the sides of bottles. We scent them. We embed natural décor in them (pinecones, flowers). There is etiquette involved in burning, not burning, replacing them.
They make people smile.
They are an integral part of our history and lore.
Why do ghosts appear carrying candles? Do they need light?
It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness. (attributed to Proverbs, Confucius, Eleanor Roosevelt, and John F Kennedy)
