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House & Home
There something about candles that makes an inner space ... well ... glow. And there's something about the holidays that especially wants candles. ... Preferably, lots of them. ...
Chanukah Candles ... If you celebrate Chanukah, then at least part of the magic and mystery of candles is built into the holiday celebration. Of course, strictly speaking, the candles in the menorah are not there to be enjoyed as a source of light or pleasure. They are lit to remind one of the miracle which Chanukah celebrates. That is why the shamash or 'servant' candle is lit, so that any incidental pleasure can be attributed to it. Yet, even within this framework, with the lighting of the menorah candles each night, it doesn't have to be the children only who are taken up ... not only into the miracle of the holiday, but into the mystery of the flames. The fortunate part of the Chanukah celebration is that, if you somehow miss the opportunity on the first night, you still have another week of nights to find your way toward the spirit of things. Of course, you may have to look to your children for examples of how to go about it. Christmas Candles ... On the other hand, in households where Christmas is celebrated, too often, the glow of electric lights, even if sometimes in the shape of candles, has taken the place of the candles themselves. ... But the remedy, if you feel the need for one, is simple really. … Here at home, we begin lighting candles in honor of the season on the 1st Sunday of Advent. It's a tradition we've been doing for as long as I can remember. ... A single candle, in the center of an evergreen wreath, as the centerpiece of the table. Each Sunday of Advent, we add one candle. ...
Another tradition here is the cutting of the tree. Come the morning of Christmas Eve, we go out and cut a tree, usually a spruce from our woods, nothing perfect, although we look for one that's fairly full ... and at least nine feet tall. ... That night, after we've finished decorating it, we place eight candles on the tree -- one for each day in the Octave of Christmas. ... The candles are held in place by small scalloped holders that clip on the branches. ... We turn out all the lights but one small one, to make our way around, then light the candles. ... When they're lit, it's difficult to describe their beauty. ... But more than that, the candles somehow add to the stillness of the 'silent night'. New Year's Eve ... On New Year's Eve, we take things further. Not only is the tree lit, as well as the centerpiece ... but we have candles, dozens of them, all over the house. In every nook and cranny, a candle burns ... some in small holders, some in votive glasses, some in small saucers placed on the wide window sills. ... 'Little Christmas' ... Each night, then, from Christmas Eve until the Old Church date of 'Little Christmas' {The Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th}, we repeat the first night's ritual. And almost without exception, no matter what anyone's been doing or what they may be involved in at the moment, once the candles are lit, that silence returns and we stare, transfixed and transfigured, if only as long as the candles burn. The Rest of the Year ... There's no good reason, really, why the lighting of candles has to be limited to these holidays. The magic & mystery of a flame is something that ought to be with us all year round. Unfortunately, it seems that the reality is that we remember that only for a relatively short while after the holidays. If we're lucky, it will come back to us in the height of summer, when we light some candles and watch the flames once again, this time, with a cool mountain breeze wafting through the windows. And once again that stillness is with us. ... If we're even luckier, this year, we might remember to light them all year long.
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