I Love Candles

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.

Candle manufacturers' surveys show that 96% of all candles purchased are bought by women

I have had been fascinated with fire all my life, bonfires, fireplace and yes, I played with matches and still do.  In Florida we have a very short candle burning season  because when it is hot and humid they do not appeal to me.

Candles have been around FOREVER. Like the early Egyptians, the Roman's relied on tallow, gathered from cattle or sheep suet, as the principal ingredient of candles. It was not until the Middle Ages when beeswax, a substance secreted by honey bees to make their honeycombs, was introduced. Beeswax candles burned pure and clean. However, they were expensive, and, therefore, only the wealthy could afford them.

Colonial women offered America's first contribution to candlemaking when they discovered that boiling the grayish green berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned clean

The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages, when spermaceti, a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil,

1850 with the production of paraffin wax made from oil and coal shales. Processed by distilling the residues left after crude petroleum was refined, the bluish-white wax was found to burn cleanly, and with no unpleasant odor. Of greatest significance was its cost - paraffin wax was more economical to produce than any preceding candle fuel developed

With the introduction of the light bulb in 1879, candlemaking declined until the turn of the century when a renewed popularity for candles emerged. No longer man's major source of light, candles continue to grow in popularity and use. Today, candles symbolize celebration and romance.


And then there are those of us who love FIRE.... I can sit and stare at flickering candle light or any other source of flickering fire for hours.  Let me know how you feel about candles and fire.