Every September the National Candle Association celebrates World Candle Month to highlight the ways candles enrich our lives. Whether it be creating a romantic ambiance, filling your home with your favorite scent, using candles to boost your mood, or to decorate for a holiday – candles are meant for everyone. This year, NCA is sharing how to Candle with Confidence by providing both safety information and candle use tips.
Know your history
We all know candles have been around for a long time, but maybe not how long. Evidence shows that ancient Egyptians used what we consider a wicked candle today as far back as 3000 BC. Since then, candles continued to progress. In middle age Europe, people could be found using beeswax, a much cleaner wax than the alternative at the time.
When the 19th century hit, that’s when candles took the form of what we see today. In the 1830’s, candles began to be mass produced, lowering their cost and making them more accessible to the average individual. Then in the 1850’s, paraffin wax was developed which has been the most common wax for more than a century.
Once used solely as a source of light, candles are now used in many ways that bring joy to many across the globe.
Know how to care for your candle
Beside showing off your knowledge of candle history, share how to care for them. Hopefully, we all know to cut our wicks to ¼” before each use, keep your candle away from drafts, pets, and kids – but did you know there are other ways to care for your candles?
One piece of information you may be interested in is what your candles throw is. This is how far your scent can reach – whether your candle is burning or not. Next time you light your candle or pass by it, take note of how strong the scent is as you move farther away. You can visit your manufacturers candle site for more information on specific fragrances and candle throw.
If you want to get creative, there are plenty of ways to repurpose your candles. Reuse the candle wax you can’t burn by taking your left-over jar candle and placing it in your car cupholder. Then, as your car sits in the sun, the wax will naturally heat up and spread the scent throughout your vehicle. (Remember to never light a candle in your car though). Another idea is to take your old leftover candle wax, melt it down and use what you already have, to create a pillar candle. One way to do this is to glue a wick to a washed pringles can, pour your melted wax in, and once it sets – voila! A new pillar candle. Finally, you can also repurpose your jar itself by removing the wax and using the jar as an organizing tool, flowerpot or jewelry holder.
Share World Candle Month with friends and family
Now that you know your history, the basic tenets of care, and ways to reuse your candles – share what you know with who you know. World Candle Month is a way for candle lovers to get together and share what candles mean to them. The best way to Candle with Confidence is to share how you Candle with Confidence.
