The Study in Ten Objects: The Candle

Most major festivals celebrate festivals of light in the darkest time of the year. Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas. Each rejoice in the victory of light over darkness and commemorate new beginnings.

Millions from the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain faiths celebrate Diwali. The word Diwali comes from ‘a row of lighted lamps.’ For Hindus it recalls the return from exile after 14 years of two deities; for Sikhs the release from prison in 1619 of a guru; and for Jains their founder’s attainment of eternal bliss.

Jews recall their survival after being persecuted by a Syrian king. After a war of three years they retook Jerusalem but found the Temple in ruins. They built a new altar and rededicated the Temple only to discover they only had enough oil for the holy lamp for one day. Replenishing the oil would take days but miraculously each day there was sufficient oil for another day. It took 8 days for the fresh supply of oil to arrive. They never ran out of oil during that time. Today the festival of Hanukkah is 8 days long and one candle is lit on the first night, two on the second, three on the third etc.

As Christians we are familiar with the Advent wreath and the lighting of a candle each week representing various characters or themes as we approach the birth of the Christ Child, the Light of the World, usually represented on the wreath by a single white candle with the other four being of colour, depending of course on the tradition.

Since the Moravians began using a spherical fruit, now an orange, along with sweets to represent the fruits of the four seasons with a single candle for the Light of the World, many churches have added another symbol to their Advent/Christmas season.

In my study is a single candle stand. It was a gift from a very good friend when I left my second appointment in 2002. It is a treasured item, not just because it is beautifully crafted, which it is, not just because I still value the friendship of the giver, which I do, but also because it has been a fixture of my life and ministry these past 20 years. Several candles have been placed on it over the years and they have been lit on many different occasions, in times of great sadness, in times that have commemorated anniversaries, in times that have been dark and seemingly without much hope in our world.

It was lit to mark the terrorist attack in London on 7/7; it was lit on the 100^th anniversary of the declaration of war in 2014; it was lit each Sunday evening of lockdown during Covid; and on so many other occasions over the years, sometimes in the quietness of my study or lounge, sometimes at public events. Most recently it was lit at the Vigil for Peace at Wallingford on Sunday 15^th October.

For many people, formally religious or not, candles are the means by which a prayer is made tangible. They are used to mourn people or to long for something. We only have to visit a cathedral to see how this is so with row upon row of votive candles blazing away; or pass the site of an accident that has claimed someone’s life and see the numbers of spent candles amongst the flowers and tributes. The light of a candle may touch us at a very deep subconscious level. In the past fire was lit at night for warmth, to create light, and to ward off wild animals. Today we may still find reassurance in the light of a candle. For Christians it can be a symbol of God’s presence, the God who reassures us, who helps us see through the darkness, and who protects us from those things and people that assail us.