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Church Candles - An Important Part of Religious Ceremonies

Church candles are one of the more important things that are used in church ceremonies and the Church religion. They are usually taken to represent many things about the Christian faith. For example, the Catholics hold the candle as representative of the body of Jesus Christ.

In Christian baptisms, it remains a belief that candles represent the child or person being baptized as receiving the light of the Lord.

In wedding ceremonies, the mother's of the couple lights up two candles that are taken to symbolize their union. These are some of the main roles that candles do during worship and ceremonies.

Ever since before, the candles have represented the light in the path of darkness has been something that's become a big part in the lives of Christians and unbeliever's as they transform themselves and start walking with the Lord.

Moreover, the candles are not only taken to symbolize the light of the Lord, but it also symbolizes the Lord's love.

Using Church candles crosses all kinds of denominations. Each denomination usually has a requirement on the kind of candle used or allowed within its walls.

Take the Catholic Church, for example, they prefer to use candles that are at the very least, 51 percent beeswax. If it was an Orthodox church, they usually require that the church candles be made from 100 percent beeswax.

The fact is that beeswax is quite expensive. This is the reason why the stubs are recycled to be made into new beeswax candles as well. On the other hand, there are other denominations that prefer to use organic candles instead.

Some churches like to us vegetable wax church candles. They like it because it burns efficiently and in longer times, apart from time, they are also cheap.

Making use of church candles has been a tradition for thousands of years. The same candles that we use today for different ceremonies and activities were also used in equally important celebrations in the past.

Let's see how these candles were used in ancient times and how it has come to evolve through the years.

Originally, Egyptians were the ones who used candles to carry out exorcisms, look for treasures and other rituals. Thus, using church candles were not exactly something that the Roman Catholic Church was keen about.

The church was hesitant since it was a primary tool in pagan religions. However, the 4th century arrived and it slowly integrated the use of candles in Christian rituals.

By this time, it was admitted to the church, however, despite of this, they were still prohibited from being used in the altar since it also had strong associations with witchcraft.

Only during the Middle Ages when the church decided that they would consecrate and bless the candles so that it can be used in the altar. The candles were then also used for blessings and absolving sins as well as driving out demons.

The candles usage has certainly treaded a long path. People have used these candles in so many ways for a very long time that its meaning has become amalgamated into our lives and special events that we celebrate. In addition, the church candles of today serve a great function in our faith and will continue to do so as long as we allow it to be.

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