Interesting Candle Facts You Didn't Know About

Interesting Candle Facts You Didn't Know About

Interesting Facts About Candles You Didn’t Know

1. Where did the custom of blowing out candles on a cake come from?

Putting candles on cakes is a tradition that dates back to Ancient Greece. 
As usual, the custom, which everyone knows from time immemorial, has its roots in antiquity, more precisely in ancient Greece. The first ritual of this kind was connected with the cult of the goddess Artemis. The Greeks baked round cakes and decorated them with candles. The circle of light on the cake was meant to symbolise the light of the moon, which was the patron goddess. The smoke coming out of the candles was supposed to symbolise a prayer ascending to the land of the gods.

When the tradition of birthday candles reached secular homes, it was believed that lit candles would dispel darkness and protect the birthday boy or girl from evil spirits during this magical time. In turn, the glow of a burning fire is a symbol and harbinger of good fortune in the coming year. Such interpretations of the presence of candles on the cake come from Germany. With the passing of time, the blowing out of candles ceased to have such symbolism, and became a normal custom associated with the celebration of birthdays.

2. Candle made from fish!

Originating from the Pacific Ocean, the fish candle owes its name to its extremely high fat content. The North American Indians, in addition to eating this fish, dried it, ran a wick through it and burned it like a normal candle.

3. Candle experiment - Candle flames in microgravity.

Does a candle burn the same on a space station as it does on earth? No. NASA made an interesting experiment and lit a candle in microgravity. Some interesting things happened
- The flame colour was blue.
- The shape of the flame was hemispherical.
- The candles melted faster than on normal gravitty

4. The first candles

The beginnings of candles - different types of wax in the past
Candles have been known since ancient times. The first records of candles date back as far as 5000 years ago.
Different regions of the world used different types of wax depending on the available sources. In India wax was made from the fruit of the cinnamon tree; in Japan wax was made from nuts. An interesting solution was found in China, where the wick was made from rolled rice paper and the wax was made from local insects mixed with grains pressed into a paper mould.

5. Women as candle lovers

Surveys of candle manufacturers show that 96% of all candles are bought by women. Two-thirds of candle buyers say they use them once a week or more. Women use them more than men, and young people use candles more often than older people.

6. Huge candles

In the Kingdom of Bahrain, the world's largest candle was lit to mark the Shiite festival of Ashura. The length of the three-metre candle, standing horizontally, was 73 metres, and those present lit 14,000 wicks. Among them was an order from the Guinness Book of World Records.

In 2003, a candle was made in Krotoszyn and entered in the Guinness Book of Records. It used 2.5 t of paraffin, was 3.5 m high and its wick was 5 cm thick. It was produced in the oldest candle factory in Poland.

7. Chandler

A candlemaker or seller is known as a chandler.
It derives from the Old French word "chandelier", which, before the advent of electricity, was a ceiling fitting made of several candles.

8. Properly blowing out a candle

You should never blow out a candle.
Blowing out a candle produces lots of soot and smoke, and you also risk blowing droplets of hot liquid wax in the surrounding area, which might land on the furniture or someone's eyeball. Instead, according to the European Candle Association, the best way to put out a candle is to use a candle snuffer, which puts the flame out by depriving it of oxygen. Or, you can use something inflammable to dip the wick into the wet wax and immediately straighten it again. The wax will protect the wick from crumbling when it's cool again

9. Ancient fun fact

Do you know that the ancient Egyptians were the first to use candles to make dreams come true and also to make spells or magic. Burning a candle is an essential part in the Ancient Egyptian love spell "Spell of Isis".

10. Myth about make candle last longer

Many people say that freezing a candle before lighting it will make it last longer. Unfortunately - it’s fake news! Freezing the candle actually makes the wax crack and damages the candle.

11. Peace Candle Of The World 

The World Peace Candle is an approximately 15 m tall, 5.5 m diameter tower in Scappoose, Oregon. It was built in 1971 on the site of the then Brock Candles Inc factory, which burned down in 1990. Factory owner Darrel Brock created the candle by covering a silo with 45,000 pounds (20 tons) of red wax to advertise the factory.


The candle was originally constructed from real wick. On May 9, 1971, the city's mayor and Oregon Governor Tom McCall lit the candle with a specially made match 60 feet long. Due to the difficulty of keeping the candle lit during rainfall, the wick was replaced with a natural gas line running through the centre of the candle, followed by an electric neon flame.

The World Peace Candle was awarded the Guinness World Record for the world's largest candle. The Scappoose Peace Candle is located on the east side of U. S. Route 30 and can be seen from above. Each season the candle has been covered in different colours to match the season, with red for Christmas and many colours used in the fall.
The candle is meant to serve as a symbol of the desire for world peace. At Christmas, the Scappoose Peace Candle is dotted with strands of Christmas tree lights.

 

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