A Short History of Candles

At Bahoma we are very aware of the historic nature of the business within which we work, even though Bahoma makes a lot more than just candles, we know that this product has been produced for thousands of years across all nations. This humbling understanding makes us want to make all our candle making ancestors proud of the products we produce and we always remember their spirit when we create our own candles. So, in view of this let us examine a little bit about the history of candles and the ancient craft of candle making. The word Candle comes from an Anglo-Norman word candele, which itself comes from the Latin word candre, which means to shine. There is no definitive answer to the question, who made the first candle as many peoples around the world started using waxes as light sources from about 5000BC onwards. But the Romans have usually been credited to be the first to use a wick to create a true candle. However, the earliest known candle light produced was produced by a candle made of whale fat and it was produced in China during the time of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC). The Qin candle is the first recorded time that animal fat (whale fat in this case) was taken and solidified with a wick at its centre and made into what we would now recognize as a candle. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty was Emperor Qin Shi Huang whose mausoleum was excavated in the 90s and inside the mausoleum were found these candles, an extraordinary testament to human ingenuity. Of course, it is very possible that candles using plant and animal waxes with a papyrus wick in the centre were also produced by the Egyptians and Romans well before the Qin Dynasty. Of course, it is entirely possible that the Chinese themselves may have beenproducing candles well before the Qin candles discovered in Xian. Early European History of Candles

Most of Europe was late to the candle party and not till the Middle Agesdid candle making take hold in Europe as before this time oil lamps were readily available and widely used, Olive oil was plentiful and relatively cheap. Candle making was largely confined to the less civilized wild parts of Northern Europe where olive oil was hard to get hold of and expensive and where even the Roman Army did not like to venture too deeply. Here candles were produced from the fat of animals, called tallow. Tallow was first melted and then formed into candle within which were wicks made from cords of vegetation such as plant reeds. Well before Europe cottoned on to the candle (pardon the pun), candles were largely produced in Asia and the East, with Japanese and Chinese candles commonly made from insect and plant waxes and Indian candles often made from wax produced by boiling cinnamon. Ancient Chinese candles used wicks which were usually made from rolled rice paper which was then coated with beeswax and crushed seeds.

It wasnt until after the fall of the Roman Empire that candle making started to become more important in Europe. The Romans had provided a stable economic environment for farmers and traders to create an efficient olive oil market, when the Empire collapsed so did this economic framework and Olive Oil started to become a scarce commodity and therefore its price surged. This lead to a marked increase in candle usage in Europe, as oil burners simply became too expensive to use. Candles to Track Time and for Religious Rituals

The most important use for candles was to bring light to the dark but also it became apparent that they could be used to mark the passage of time. A candle of a specific diameter and weight will burn with a relatively even burn rate and from this you can deduce how much time has passed. In fact candles were produced with metal nails stuck into them these candles were then placed in a metal bowl and when the candle was burned the nail would fall off when the candle had burned for a pre-defined length of time and make a noise as it hit the metal bowl, the first known timer. Advent candles were originally designed to mark the passage of time until the festival of Christmas, a timekeeping function which was common for candles during the 18th Century in Europe and much earlier in China. In Western European tradition candles were so important that they were woven into the festival of The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the festival is sometimes called Candlemas. At Candlemas it was traditional for the priest to bless beeswax candles for use throughout the coming year. In fact in Poland the blessed candles would be given to the faithful for them to light during storms and other times of crisis to ward off evil spirits. Religious use of candles was also widespread throughout human history, the mystery encapsulated in a candle flame and the warm quality of the light given by candles quickly established the candle as the essential item to conduct religious ceremonies from Egypt to Rome to India and China. In fact the first Indian candles made from cinnamon were largely used for religious ceremonies. Candle Making in London In London and not far from where the Bahoma factory is now located, by the 14th century, two livery guilds were established by Royal proclamation. One was the Tallow Chandlers Guild and the other was the Wax Chandlers Guild and they were formed to oversee the manufacture and governance of critically important items for the English economy of the Middle Ages. In 1180 a street called Kandelwickestrate is first mentioned near what is now Cannon Street (about 30 minutes walk from the Bahoma candle factory). There was also a Candle Market Street near the area so the entire paraphernalia for candle production and also the retailing of candles was present within the City of London from around the 1100s. During this time laws were also passed governing the sale of beeswax and also how much tallow was allowed in wax candles, tallow was much cheaper but had very unpleasant smells associated with it and was largely used to make candles for the poor. An errant wax chandler who used too much tallow in a wax candle could expect to find himself in prison or face the public humiliation of the pillory. Thus we have an early form of consumer protection for candle buyers.

During the period 1348 1350 most of Londons chandlers succumbed to the Black Death, as their occupation meant that they were frequently involved with funerals and embalming and the likelihood of catching the disease was high. However, this tragic period would ultimately lead to greater prosperity for chandlers as after the Black Death, the rituals surrounding funerals became ever more elaborate and the candle was central to these rituals. The demand for candles skyrocketed and the Worshipful Companies of Wax Chandlers and Tallow Chandlers prospered as never before. In fact the wax chandlers guild was granted a royal charter by King Richard III in 1484, one of very few guilds to enjoy such status.

By 1538 the wax chandlers fortunes were to be severely restricted by a proclamation by King Henry VIII. As part of the Kings Protestant Reformation of the Church, he instructed that no candles were to be used in churches and there were not to be used for any devotional purposes. As churches had been major buyers of wax candles this hit the wax candle industry very hard. Tallow chandlers still carried on as their product was deemed too low to be used in churches, and they largely existed from sales to households. Tallow candles produce unpleasant smells and were not favoured by the rich, in fact in 1749 Voltaire noted that Paris burns a thousand times more wax candles than London, where except for the Court nothing is burned but tallow. By the late 18th century Londons chandlers were facing a new threat; the growth of the whaling industry had brought a new material to the candle market, Spermaceti, an oil produced from the Sperm whale. This new development all but killed the tallow industry which had to survive on soap production as more and more candles were made using the new spermaceti material which was much cheaper and did not produce foul odours. Further disruption was to hit chandlers in 19th century with the advent of paraffin waxes, which would ultimately revolutionise the production of candles and bring the prices of candles to levels which the masses could finally afford. But no sooner had this process begun than the electric lightbulb was invented in 1879. Of course this spelled doom for the traditional chandler but the process would still take decades to eradicate the production of candles purely for the purpose of light. Of course now this process has reached its final fruition, when we no longer use candles to create light with which we see our world at night, we now use candles to create emotions and to play with our moods, whether to soothe ourselves or to create romance and seduction. The purpose of a candle has changed dramatically since it was first conceived and no one, not even we at Bahoma, even after making millions of candles, can say that they are an essential part of life any more. But what we can say is that they add a layer of civilization, a connection to our primitive past which still reminds us of our humanity and our history as well as transforming the most mundane environment into a cozy, romantic corner of the world, just for us to enjoy.