Candles have been used as a light source for more than 5,000 years and play a special role in celebrations. Candles have become an essential part of our lives today, but little is known about their origins.
Candles are thought to have first appeared in ancient Egypt in the 30th century BC, when the ancient Egyptians made candles by inserting reeds into melted tallow. Until the Middle Ages, candles in southern Europe and around the Mediterranean were made from animal fat.
Although it is generally believed that candles made by the Egyptians are the earliest origin. But there is also another origin that says that the ancient Romans began before this by rolling up papyrus and repeatedly dipping it in melted butter or beeswax, and then burning it as a lighting tool It is well known that candles played an important role in early religious rituals. The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, centered around candles, dates back to 165 BC.like Tealight candle,stick candle
Hanukkah commemorates the capture of Jerusalem from the Seleucid king Antiochus IV of Syria by the Jews under the leadership of the Maccabees.
When the Jews recaptured their temple and tried to light the menorah of the temple, only a small bottle of wax was found uncontaminated. They used the remaining wax oil to miraculously light the candlestick, which was supposed to last only one day, but burned for eight days.
To commemorate this miracle, the Jews established Hanukkah, which is why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight consecutive days and eight nights.
Most of the changes affecting contemporary candle making occurred primarily in the 19th century. In the 1820s, French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul discovered how to extract stearic acid from animal fatty acids. Stearin Wax is hard, durable, and burns cleanly, and is still popular in Europe today.
Candles returned to popularity in the first half of the 20th century, when the growth of the oil and meat processing industries in the United States brought paraffin wax and stearic acid, by-products of the basic components of candles.
Until the mid-1980s, the popularity of candles steadily increased, people began to use candles as decorations, for mood adjustment, candles once became the most popular gift.
Interest in candles began to revive, and candles developed many meanings other than lighting. Ornaments such as dried flowers began to be added to the candles, and many special-shaped candles appeared.
The 1990s saw an unprecedented increase in the popularity of candles. In the United States, agricultural chemists developed soybean wax, a natural and environmentally friendly wax that is softer than paraffin and burns more slowly. Candle-making workshops also flourished at this time.
From direct light sources to ornaments, today's candles not only still have utility, but are endowed with more beautiful meanings. Candles mean celebration, romance, comfort, peace, ritual and aesthetic expression.
Candles keep our environment bright, warm, comfortable, and pleasant-that's the beauty of candles.
