Where did candles start? Who was the wise man or woman who thought, " I could use a little more light!" and created the candle? Archeologists believe that the first people to have a candle were the Egyptians and Cretes about 5000 years ago! For outdoor use they had torches which gave off a fair amount of light but produced a lot of smoke.
The candles inside were smaller and still gave off smoke but not as much.
These first candles were made of animal fat, called tallow, which was usually from sheep or goats.
The Romans were the first to use a wick in the candle.
They used these for traveling at night and worshiping the gods.
Next came beeswax in the middle ages.
These candles were an improvement in the animal fat candles in that they burned cleaner.
The only drawback is that they were very expensive which means the only ones with these better candles were the rich.
After a while the churches caught on and many churches still use beeswax candles today.
There were those who made a profession of making candles.
A lot of the time the customer would provide the material used for the wax such as tallow or beeswax, and the candle maker, called chandlers, would either dip or pour into a mold to make the specific candle or candles.
In the 1800s paraffin started to replace tallow because it burned cleaner than tallow but was cheaper than beeswax.
Paraffin is made from petroleum residue and is still used today.
The only problem with paraffin is that the melting point is higher so to fix this problem stearic acid was added.
Candles through out history have been used as a light source but when Thomas Edison came along and invented electricity the need for candles went down as electricity became more common and affordable.
The candle obviously did not get lost during history's movements forward.
There were and still are power outages so many people kept the old standby around just in case.
In the 1980s the candle became more of a decorating tool instead of a main source of light.
Slowly scents became more popular as another dimension sensory part of home decor.
Not only are we pleasing the eyes but the nose as well.
Today soy candles are becoming more popular because they are an all natural product that burns very clean.
If it spills, as sometimes happens, it cleans up with soap and water.
As we have come through history following the candle we see that it keeps improving and stays ever popular.
Keep watching to see what is next for the useful and beautiful candle.