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Candle

A candle is a light source usually consisting of an internal wick which rises through the center of a column of solid fuel, often referred to as wax— even though candle fuels other than paraffin are uncommon today.

Prior to the domestication of electricity, candles were a common source of lighting, before, and later in addition to, the oil lamp. Due to local availibilty and the cost of resources, for several centuries up to the 19th century candles were more common in northern Europe, and olive oil lamps more common in southern Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea. Makers of candles were known as chandlers.

Today, candles are usually used for their aesthetic value (especially the flame, but they are decorative even when not burning), particularly to set a soft, warm, or romantic ambience, and for emergency lighting during electrical power failures.

Candles can be a household hazard, and thus dangerous if not handled properly. They are known to be the cause of fires in the home. Some hazardous situations associated with candles are:

• A candle falls over because it was either too loose in its holder or because a human (including children) or pet moved closely by and disurbed it.
• Somebody's clothing catches fire because they come too close to the flame.
• A flammable holder is used, and is not properly watched over.
• Flammable material is situated too close to the candle; for example, near a curtain where a draught can move the curtain into contact with the flame.
• The flame gets too large because either the wick does not burn properly and gets too large, or other objects act as an additional wick.

Candles are used in religious ceremonies. In Christianity, they typically represent the light of Jesus Christ. In Judaism, candles are traditionally lit on Friday evening at the start of the weekly Sabbath celebration. The Jewish holiday of Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by lighting a candle in a special candelabrum (menorah) each night during the eight-day holiday to commemorate the dedication of the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Candles were traditionally used to light up Christmas trees before the advent of electric lights. They are still, even today, commonly used to decorate Christmas trees in Denmark.

In Sweden (and other Scandinavian countries), St. Lucia Day is celebrated on December 13th with the crowning of a young girl with a ring of candles.

Decorative candle holders, especially those shaped as a pedestal, are called candlesticks; if multiple candles are held, the term candelabrum is also used. The root form of chandelier is from the word for candle, though candles are rarely raised and hung today.

Candles can be made of paraffin, stearin, beeswax, some plant waxes, or tallow. Candles are produced in various colors, shapes, sizes and scents. Some scented candles are used for aromatherapy.

See also Timeline of lighting technology.

In physics, the candle is an old unit of luminous intensity replaced by the candela. A candle is 1.02 candela.

In forestry, a candle is a fast growing, light colored, upward-growing shoot on a pine tree in the spring. As growth slows in summer, the shoot darkens and is no longer highlighted to one's view.

See also: National Candle Association

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