Candles at Christmas - The Symbolism of Candles During the Holiday Season

Since earliest times, candles have symbolized the triumph of light over darkness, warmth over cold, community over isolation.

Crude candles aided primitive peoples in creating artwork on cave walls deep beneath the Earth.  Ancient Romans lit candles as a defense against evil and to entreat the sun to shine.  During Victorian times candles represented goodwill to folks who were down on their luck during the holiday season.  In many cultures throughout history people placed candles in their windows to welcome passing strangers into their homes where they could find food and a roof over their heads for the night.

To Christians, candles symbolize Jesus, who brought light into the world.  During the Middle Ages, people put candles in their windows to guide the Christ child, whom they believed wandered through the world in search of a place to stay; on that night no wayfarer was turned away.

Candles also came to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the three wise men to Jesus' birthplace.  During the Middle Ages people would light a large candle both at home and in church, and families during Victorian times used pins or melted wax to attach candles to Christmas tree branches.  Candle holders didn't come into use until 1890.

In Spain, families light a candle above the door on Christmas Eve.  In China, Christians adorn their Christmas trees with lanterns, and Christians in some parts of India use clay oil-burning lamps.

But some cultures have bestowed supernatural powers upon candles, believing that they could predict tragic events.

In England, instead of a Yule log, families would burn large candles on Christmas Day.  If the candle went out before the day's end, those who lived in the household would have misfortune for the coming year.  In Scotland, people believed that the Christmas candle dying before Midnight portended great disaster.

Danish families often lit a candle to symbolize the wife of the household and another to symbolize the husband; the first candle to burn out would foretell which one of them would be the first to die.

In Scandinavian countries, families would leave candles on the graves of their ancestors, most likely because of the old Viking belief that during the winter solstice the dead rose to haunt the living.

Although there has been no scientific study proving the ability of candles to tell the future, we do know that they bring a touch of warmth, light, and beauty into what might otherwise be a cold, dreary season.

David Kubicek received a B.A. with Distinction in English from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, his work has been published in many periodicals, including Space and Time, National Lampoon, and The Writer's Journal, and he was a writer for the Midlands Business Journal for nine years. His books include The Pelican in the Desert and Other Stories of the Family Farm, October Dreams: A Harvest of Horror, and the Cliffs Notes for Willa Cather's My Antonia. David lives with his wife Cheryl, son Sean, two dogs and a cat in Lincoln, Nebraska. Visit his Website at http://www.davidkubicek.com

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