CANDLES LIGHT UP MAN'S CELEBRATIONS THROUGH HISTORY

Taupo Times, Volume 19, Issue 98, 17 December 1970, Page 7 (Supplement)

CANDLES LIGHT UP MAN'S CELEBRATIONS THROUGH HISTORY

It is difficult to imagine Chr istmastime without candles. Long before Christ, man associated the light of the candle with his spiritual longings. The Old Testament refers to the candle offen. As civilization dawned, man came to guard the flames he discovered he he could make by friction of sticks or flint. Crude torches let him hold the light a little longer and to lengthen his days so that he might pursue his labor and his quest for knowledge. The Romans were probably the first to make candles, which they burned before the altars of their gods, to light their ban-

quet rooms, and to light their pageants and carnivals. It is interesting to note that while pagan Rome used the candle for merry-making, the Christian martyrs used it to light the catacombs. It was natural for Christians to adapt the candle to their way of life, for Christ had referred to Himself as the Light of the world. More, He had assured them that each Christian was a light. The Middle Ages found the candle at its zenith. Made of tallow, by the dipping process, the candle was widely used for light, on up till the 19th century. The Medieval church made sure that candles were made of beeswax . . . an idea founded in the belief that bees came to earth directly from heaven. Throughout the Mid-

dle Ages it was common for swarms of bees to be cared for near religious establishments. Some of the candles of the Middle Ages were thick and ta.ll ; they rose over the heads of the people and cast a fairly strong light in a royal hall, or cathedral. These huge candles weighed as much as 300 pounds. The custom of putting lighted candles on the tree came from Martin Luther's time, when hazards of fire from candles was an accepted risk, part of life itself. The idea of lights on the tree is still cherished

* f by modern man. One of Albert Schweitzer's books tells of a Christmas Day in a steaming jungle when a dying man begged for a Christmas tree with candles on it. ' It is traditional that every family in Ireland have a candle in the home as a symbol of faith, to welcome the Christ and to invite strangers (who may be the Holy Infant with an earthly disguise) . In Italy a Christmas candle is kept burning in front of each creche during the Yule Season. In Spain, the Christmas candle is placed over the doors of the faithful.