Wedding candles: what they look like and whether you can make them yourself
The Orthodox rite of birth of a family is quite long, it can last for an hour. Therefore, the best option would be long, but not thick candles, traditionally white or pastel colors (as a symbol of purity). The lower part of such candles is always wider than the starting point of combustion, so that it is easier to hold in your hand.
This indispensable attribute in a wedding ceremony is made from paraffin, since ordinary wax gives the product a yellow tint, and traditionally a candle should be pale white. It’s better when they are made from high-quality paraffin, thanks to which:
- vertically burning candles do not flow or deform;
- do not emit soot or unpleasant odor;
- burn without crackling;
- do not pollute the air, since there are no harmful additives in the composition.
White wax is often used - a natural substance, unlike paraffin, a petroleum product, it does not drip when burned, but is more expensive.
To prevent paraffin from dripping onto clothes and burning the hands of the bride and groom during the ceremony, you need to provide a special candlestick or napkins for wedding candles, which are made from embroidered or lace scarves in light colors. Previously, girls themselves sewed and decorated their dowry for marriage, which included wedding napkins, towels, and a wedding dress. Each future bride put her own soul and imagination into it. The result was exclusive holiday decoration.
Candles for Orthodox rites can be bought in a church, purchased in a special “semi-finished products” store and decorated to your taste with ribbons, beads, sequins, or made yourself using a metal mold.
To make it yourself, you need to melt small fragments of wax or paraffin candles in a container over a fire and pour them into a pre-purchased mold, after placing a wick ribbon there. After pouring the liquid mass, the braided thread must be held by the ends along the center line until the substance begins to harden. You can also pre-attach decorations to the walls of the mold to make the composition look festive.
Homemade candles must be blessed in the temple before the ceremony.
How to treat candles correctly
Speaking about how to store wedding candles at home and how to use them, it is important to say a few words about the correct attitude towards such candles and all others too. By themselves, neither wedding candles nor any other candles can help a person. The Lord God, the Mother of God and the saints help believers through their sincere prayers. At the same time, people’s lives themselves should be as consistent as possible with the commandments and Orthodox faith. But the attitude towards candles, and other attributes of faith, as something magical that fulfills any desires is absolutely non-Christian, but magical, pagan. And Orthodox Christians should not have such an attitude towards the attributes of faith, but should have a reverent, respectful attitude.
If you are interested in wedding candles
,
wax
or
paraffin
, you will always find them in a wide range in the Letopis online store.
How many candles do you need for a wedding?
Two people are getting married and each person gets one candle.
The newlyweds enter the church along with witnesses. Then the bride and groom stand on the towel, and the friends remain standing behind them. The priest hands the wedding couple a candle and lights them. The candles burn until the end of the ceremony, then the Holy Father extinguishes them and hands them over to the witnesses. It is recommended to do this with your fingers rather than blowing it out.
All you need to do after the wedding with a towel and candles is to keep them and not pass them on to other people.
Symbolism
When the newlyweds stand in front of the altar, the priest blesses the newlyweds three times. They sign themselves with the sign of the cross.
After this, the priest hands them a lighted candle. Important! It is believed that married spouses are united after death in heaven and never separate again.
The attributes will remain lit throughout the ritual. They are a spiritual symbol of the sacrament and mean God's grace, confirm the spiritual chastity of those getting married and their sincere desire to get married. Fire symbolizes the sincerity and fervor of prayer for a prosperous family life.
In what cases can they be lit?
It is recommended to light wedding candles after the wedding:
- On our wedding anniversary.
- In difficult life moments to make a decision.
- Before the upcoming separation.
- When children get sick.
- In order to prevent divorce.
When wedding candles are used frequently after a wedding, there is a high risk of damage. Then they can be glued with melted wax over the broken surface, secured with adhesive tape, or used each part separately.
Candles are taken out of a secluded place for a short time, so that by the light of their fire one can turn to God for help or with gratitude.
What is needed and the question price?
If the couple is not rich, they will definitely ask the question: “How much does a wedding cost?” In fact, it is impossible to answer this question unequivocally.
Let's list what is necessary for a wedding:
- personal presence of both spouses;
- spouses (a suit on the groom, a modest long (preferably white) dress on the bride and a scarf/stole/veil);
- wedding rings, if there are none, then wedding rings;
- two wedding candles;
- towel (towel);
- two and the Mother of God.
If you have the right clothes and shoes for the ceremony, then you don't need to spend on outfits.
Wedding rings from the registry office are allowed. You don't have to buy a new pair. If there are none, then it is advisable to buy a gold ring for the husband, and a silver one for the wife. These were the traditions in past centuries, and they continue to this day.
You can choose the simplest and cheapest wedding candles, or the most expensive, festively decorated ones.
You can sew a towel yourself or ask your family and friends to do it. In church shops they are sold at different prices, depending on the material and complexity of the pattern.
You can bring icons from home so as not to buy new ones.
What to do with wedding candles in the event of divorce or death of one of the spouses
If, after all, the marriage breaks up, then it makes no sense to keep symbols of family unity in the house. In this case, the Orthodox Church recommends burning wedding candles completely. It is advisable to do this in church while praying for your ex-husband or wife, no matter what reasons lead to divorce.
When one of the spouses dies in a family that has lived a happy life together and carefully keeps wedding candles after the wedding, it is better to burn these attributes at the same time. Another option is practiced when his candle is buried along with the deceased, and the widowed spouse keeps the second one as a keepsake.
What to do after the ceremony?
You can leave them at the temple, but it is usually recommended to bring them home. The candles will remind you of a happy event, acting as a talisman for the new family.
It is best to keep them next to the wedding icon, which was used to bless the newlyweds. You can place them in candlesticks next to it, you can wrap them in cloth or put icons under glass to prevent dust from sticking. Any other images of saints will do. It is allowed to be stored in a box where other shrines are stored - a baptismal shirt, incense, holy water. It is possible to simply store it in a secluded, pious place. Care must be taken to ensure that small children and pets do not have access to the candles.
If the husband and wife do divorce, candles should be burned in front of the icons, preferably in a church. At the same time, you must sincerely ask for the health and well-being of your ex-spouse, no matter how strong the grievances against each other. In the event of the death of one of the spouses, it is also recommended to burn candles in the church or place one of them in the coffin of the deceased. You can also leave a candle as a keepsake.
Signs and folk beliefs associated with wedding candles
Although priests do not welcome human superstitions, fire is an element that you can look at endlessly, it fascinates and adds mystery to events.
People have always sought to diversify and “warm up” their lives with something unusual, endowing trivial things with magical meaning. This was not avoided by the clergy’s recommendations on how to store and when to light wedding candles after the wedding. Throughout the history of Orthodoxy, folk signs have accumulated that relate to this family symbol:
- in those churches where at the end of the ceremony it is not the priest who extinguishes the candles, but those getting married, they must do this at the same time so that their family hearth does not go out for many years;
- if during the ceremony the candles of the bride and groom burn straight, then life together will flow calmly, but if the flame breaks and the candle smokes with a characteristic crack, then expect frequent scandals and quarrels;
- it is a very bad sign when one of the wedding guests’ candle burns out completely or is greatly diminished during the ceremony - his life will end early;
- It is vital to take care of wedding candles after the wedding, since with their loss divorce is inevitable;
- they help a woman resolve a difficult birth;
- can help stop a house fire;
- help a seriously ill spouse reduce suffering.
With all the symbolism of wedding candles during and after the ceremony, relationships in the family depend solely on people, and objects carry the memory of the significant event that marked the beginning of the family union.
Signs
In the old days in Rus', candles weighed more than a pound, and they were held not by the newlyweds, but by special people - “candlemakers”. On the first night, such a block was lit and placed near the newlyweds’ bed. There was a belief that this brings happiness and healthy children.
- If during the wedding the flame burns evenly , the family life of the newlyweds will be calm and happy;
- Crackling, soot while burning candles - to a life filled with troubles, troubles and problems;
- Whichever of those getting married holds the candle higher will become the head of the family;
- A bad omen is a flame that goes out during the ritual . This foreshadows the premature death of one of the spouses;
- The one whose candle burns longer will live longer. If the candles burn out at the same time, then the spouses will live equally long and spend their lives together. Therefore, after the end of the ritual, it is recommended to extinguish the flame simultaneously.
It is believed that ritual candles help during childbirth, and they can also alleviate the pain of the patient, protect against lightning and even fire. There is a belief that with the help of wedding items and magic you can both divorce spouses and promote their reconciliation.
Important! Priests do not advise attributing mystical powers to these attributes and taking signs too seriously. Superstitions distort the idea of the true purpose of these objects.
Divorce after wedding. Is it possible for married spouses to get a divorce?
The sacrament of wedding is a serious, responsible step, one of the church rites that unites spouses in life and after death. You should prepare for it spiritually and physically, because this is a step towards family life until death separates the spouses. However, recently, some couples thoughtlessly decide to get married , without realizing the seriousness of this action. Such relationships are often short-lived. Unfortunately, marriages often break up. Divorce statistics in Russia are very disappointing - more than half of registered relationships end in divorce.
