Candles are more than a light
Candles hold so many different meanings.
Don't hide your light under a bushel basket referred to a candle.
Over the years candles have sparkled at every important event in my life.
I've held the candle my husband and I lit together at our wedding. That candle still sits atop the china cabinet in our dining room.
At each child's baptism we lit a candle of faith and hope. I kept those candles until they lit them at their First Holy Communion.
How about the candle lighting at the town Christmas concert? The entire crowd lifted high a tiny spark that lit the entire night and brightened our spirits as we sang of another promise.
There was the soft light of candles at the funeral of my Mom. And the other family members I love.
As Christmas approaches we light the Advent candles: one each week for four weeks to celebrate the approach of the Christ Child's birth.
Or the Hanukah candles on a graceful Menorah? The candles are lit each evening in celebration along with the sharing of gifts.
Birthday candles add that touch of playfulness as each child tries to blow out the flames. I remember my daughter blew out the single candle on her first birthday cake. What a surprise! And my Dad managed to do the eighty-five candles on his last cake.
So I get to the candle that holds the most meaning for me.
My grandparents, my parents and then my own family put a candle in the window for the holidays. You can see them sparkling in every neighborhood, glowing out across the darkness.
The old tradition says the candle will light the path for the Holy Family as they seek shelter.
Another less know tradition is the candle will light the way home for lost loved ones.
My daughter-in-law creates stained-glass windows and has promised me a picture of a lit candle for my attic window. When I put it in place I plan to put a light behind it so every day of the year my loved one can find their way home.
Tell me, What is your special candle?
May all your loved ones share a Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year.
Find my books and links at www.barbaraedwards.net
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