Candles have long been a mainstay of celebrations at this time of year, as a way to hold off the darkness and gloom. These candles are found at the Good Shepherd church in Surrey, BC.
There are red and green floating candles shaped like poinsettia and holly. Creamy white pillar candles so fat they have three wicks. And votive candles with intoxicating scents of pine, bayberry and spice.
For some people, the candle itself has great meaning. For others, it’s the candle’s hypnotic, golden light that appeals most.
Vancouver film producer Maryvonne Michale, who recently researched the origins of Christmas for InSight Film and Video Production, says seasonal celebrations centred around light are observed by people of many different beliefs.
Glowing fires, candles and strings of coloured lights are not only symbols of Christmastime. “There are festivals of light in many cultures. Most take place in the dark part of the year,” Michale says. The origins of these festivals go back to the time of early man.
“There was this fear that the sun might disappear. By creating light, it was thought you could encourage the sun to come back.”
Long before Christianity, the sun’s rebirth in late December was a time of significance. With the growing season over, the pre-Christians had both reason and time to celebrate. Fire devices, from yule logs to candles, became symbols of the sun’s promise to return.
English novelist William Sansom, in A Book of Christmas, writes: “The time of year was one of lighting fires, praising the new sun, relaxation and feasting. Not until the middle of the fourth century was the birth of Christ officially celebrated at (that) time.”
Hanukkah, the Jewish feast of lights, can be traced back 21 centuries to the Maccabean War, the first battle fought for religious freedom. When the Jews defeated the Syrians and recaptured their temple, a miracle occurred: the lamp oil that should have lasted only one day, instead burned for an entire week.
Since that time, for eight days in December Jews give thanks by lighting a special nine-branch candelabrum called a Menorah. Using the ninth candle, which is not allowed to burn out until the last day of Hanukkah, one candle of the Menorah is lit each evening.
The candles may be coloured, white only or blue and white (the national colours of Israel).
While Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday in Israel, in North America it has grown into a major event because of all the attention paid to Christmas.
Roman Catholics also light candles, in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth Dec. 25.Their Advent wreath consists of four candles, three purple and one pink, which are lit in sequence during the weeks before Christmas.“The wreath is evergreen, representing God’s everlasting love,” explains Laila Maravillas, principal at St. Francis School in Vancouver.
“The colour purple tells us that Advent is a serious time for us to evaluate our lives. The pink says that we should approach Christmas with joy and hope,” said Maravillas.
In their homes and at church, Catholics light one purple candle in the first week of Advent. In week two, they light two purple candles. In week three, they light the two purples and the pink candle. And, in week four, they light them all.
“The increasing light of each week tells us that Jesus is coming nearer and nearer,” says Maravillas.
As well, there is a connection between light and the Christian mission: “We’re called to bring light into our world and to all the people we meet because light dispels darkness.”
In India, the feast of lights known as Diwali takes place on the last night of the autumn Hindu festival. To observe Diwali, clay saucers filled with oil and with floating wicks are placed on window sills, along roads and on the banks of rivers.
The lights are to guide Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, into people’s homes.
In Canada, celebrations have been modernized for convenience and safety. We decorate Christmas trees with electric lights rather than candles. The yule log has been replaced by a gas fire.
Even the Christmas pudding is more likely to be served without its burning brandy. Still, the practical reasons for celebrating with light remain: “The table yellow with electric light, the fire by which stories are told, the bright spangle of the tree — they all blaze out of shadow and out of a darkness of winter.” — William Sansom, A Book of Christmas