Candles

[Dancing quee]

For my homework i need to find out why, where and when do people use candles. I would like to hear ur thoughts please thanx lv Dancing quee XxXx

[Buenchico]

I'm not going to do your homework for you but I don't mind pointing you in the right direction.

Look under 'usage' here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candles

Chris

[irisred]

Personally I use them frequently, for meditation, romance, dinner parties, chilling out, when I'm in the bath.... endless list.

[{Dakota}]

I personally use them to to give my flat a relaxing atmoshphere after a (usually) stressful day at work and also to get rid of cooking and smoke odours.

[alunrw]

having had a few surprise power cuts over the last couple of years , we still keep a supply of candles at hand for emergency lighting -

[WendyS]

And also citronella candles are useful outdoors in the summer evenings for driving midges away. Perfumed candles indoors are pleasant for creating a relaxing atmosphere and helping to dissipate unpleasant smells such as cooking fish and some "wet doggy" odours.

[tigilou]

ive always got a candle burning to make the house smell a bit fresher and decoration really. I think tey make the house look homely

[Coobeastie]

Hopi candles are used to draw gunk from your ears..

[rampart]

Here is how we use candles in our life:

Home: most nights we all sit in the dining room for dinner with table cloth, napkins, nice china and crystal, and six tapered candles. During Advent, we had the five-candle wreath in the dining room: three purple candles, a rose candle (for St. Mary, but yes, we are Anglican), and the white candle for Christ. We lit them every night during Advent. We also use candles in the living room on top of the mantle in two large globes. In the kitchen and the guest bath room, we have scented candles. We only light the guest bath candle if we anticipate guests. The wife and I occasionally burn candles in our bathroom, but I would not say daily - perhaps two or three times each week.

Church: We light the Pascal candle for funerals and Easter. We light an Advent wreath during Advent. If those candles are being used, they are lit first. We have two large candles on the altar which are Eucharist lamps. If we have the Pascal candle or Advent wreath, the light from those candles are carried to the Eucharist lamps and they are lit second. If no Pascal/Advent candle, then Eucharist lamps are lit first. There are candles on each side of the cross at the altar. They are lit from the inside out (that is, starting with the ones closest to the cross then outward). We have a santuary lamp that is always lit to indicate reserves are in the cathedral. We have a votive rack with candles that people light for just a special prayer; that is, before the service or perhaps after you've had Communion, you can walk over there and light one votive candle and say a prayer. We have acolytes that carry torches (candles on five-foot long sticks) and they stand on each side of the cross during the procession. During the Gospel, the acolytes walk with the deacon to the chancel steps and stand on each side to light the Gospel.

[jno]

they used to be purely functional - to light the dark. Imagine life before electricity/gas, cars, street lights - near-total blackness. (If you're ever out in the country at night, way out, you'll know what I mean.) Now, though, they are mostly symbolic. You may light them for a saint, or an 'intimate' dinner, or for their perfume. These are, in effect, all ways to evoke that pre-industrial era before mass lighting was available, to feel as if you're in some long-ago, unstressed, 'natural' age.

[qapmoc]

Hi JNO, you are of course referring to the UK and other developed countries, if you move to parts of the world where in fact most of the people (in numbers) live you would find that candles are still used for functional purposes.

[jno]

I am indeed, qapmoc. I love those satellite photos they take of the world at night - Europe and North America ablaze with light, most of the rest of the planet black. You could argue, I suppose that candles are efficient - they give you the light you need; electricity is wasteful, creating far too much light and causing light pollution. But sometimes, of course, candles don't give nearly enough.

[kittiecris]

over a year a go the light stich cord in my bathroom snapped, so i use candles in the bathroom instead, because im too lazy to fix the light switch! appart from that i use them to make the house feel a bit more cozy especially in winter.

[charliep88]

Are you speaking of a lit candle if so I would think it a better idea to use a pen or pencil, it would be a great advantage poopsie,,

[charliep88]

dear kittiekris I think you are despicable

tom edison

[charliep88]

Dear wendy how right you are I have been using citronella candles in my yard her in slathingham and havent seen a midget in years

[NeilEthere]

Jno, get a grip - light pollution? I used to respect and value your answers but this one makes me think youre a bit too self absorbed! Sheesh!