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.
To read the remainder of the article on the history of candles and candle making go to: http://www.goodscentscandles.us/candlehistory.php
