Candle History and Candle Making

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Candles and Candle Making

The name candle comes from the Latin candere meaning "to shine." A candle is a light source usually consisting of an internal wick which rises through the center of a column of solid fuel. Prior to the mid 19th century, the majority of candles were tallow (a byproduct of beef fat rendering). The fuel in a candle now is nearly always some form of wax, with paraffin wax being the most common. Soy and vegetable-based candles such as palm wax are also available, however, and are growing in popularity as the "green segment" of the consumer market grows ever larger, and since 9/11 as Americans increasingly preferred products produced in the heartland of American rather than in the oil markets of the Middle East.

Candles were used up until the early 1900s as the single source for artificial light. Candles also have a rich tradition in religious services in many faiths through-out history. Today, the candle is no longer the single source of light but is used abundantly in religious services as well as in birthday celebrations, holidays, and home decorations.

EARLY CANDLES

While no date can be definitely pinned down for the development of the first candle, we do know that candles were developed independently in many countries. Accounts of candle use date back to ancient times, with Biblical references as early as the tenth century BC. The Egyptians and Cretans made candles from beeswax, as early as 3000 BC. The Chinese created candles from whale fat during the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC). In early China and Japan, tapers were made with wax from insects and seeds, wrapped in paper. Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC) was the first Emperor of the Chinese Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC). His burial grounds, which were rediscovered in the 1970s twenty-two miles east of Xi'an by Chinese peasants digging a well, co ntained candles made from whale fat. Yak butter was used for candles in Tibet. In India, wax from boiling cinnamon was used for temple candles.

During the first century AD, indigenous people from the northwestern region of the United States and Canada used oil from a type of fish called the eulachon or "candlefish", a type of smelt which is found from Oregon to Alaska, for illumination. A simple candle could be made by putting the dried fish on a forked stick and then lighting it.

Excavations beginning in 1748 at Pompeii, Italy, which was destroyed by a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD., revealed several candelabra. However, the earliest surviving candle in Europe was found in Avignon in France from the 1st century AD.

Early candles were made from various forms of natural fat, tallow, and wax. Although it is often written that the first candles were developed by the Ancient Egyptians who used rush lights, or torches, made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in molten tallow, the rush lights had no wick like a candle. The fact is, such rush lights have probably been in use since man first discovered fire. The Romans are credited with developing the modern wick candle, using it to aid travelers at dark and to light homes and places of worship at night.

Along with the early Egyptians, the Romans relied on tallow, gathered from cattle or sheep suet, as the principal ingredient of candles With the emergence of the Roman Empire evidence exists of the development of candles as we know them today. The Roman method was to heat the tallow until it liquefied. Next the tallow was poured over a wick material, usually made from the pith of rushes, which was suspended from a horizontal rod. As it was poured, the candle maker would use his hands to smooth the cooling tallow. A trough underneath the suspended candles would catch the excess and would then be returned to the melting pot.

Candles in the Middle Ages

During the middle ages, candles became associated with worship. Priests made beeswax candles for their services and also for the general population. Using the Roman method, they simply poured molten beeswax over a wick material, usually made of rushes. The demand for candles began to grow and Candle Guilds were formed. Candle makers at this time were called "chandlers". The popularity of candles was also shown by their use for Candlemas and Saint Lucia festivities.

Candles were used in Elizabethan times and nobleman attending a banquet at the French court of Louis XIV carried a candle in order to appear subservient to the king.

Tallow, fat from cows or sheep, became the standard material used in candles in Europe. The Tallow Chandlers Company of London was formed in about 1300 in London, and in 1456 was granted a coat of arms. Dating from about 1330, the Wax Chandlers Company acquired its charter in 1484. By 1415, tallow candles were used in street lighting.

Tallow candles, however, had a very unpleasant smell due to the glycerine they contained. For this reason churches and royal events used candles from beeswax as the smell was usually less unpleasant. The smell of the tallow manufacturing process was so unpleasant that it was banned by ordnance in several cities.