| Candle making has been around for ages. Ever | | | | Colonial candle making is similar to today's |
| since fire was invented, candles have been around | | | | methods, but with the main difference being the |
| in one form or the other. Whether it is as plain | | | | materials used. Candles were melted, dipped, |
| torches to animal fat candles, these illuminating | | | | placed with a wick then cooled. Back then, there |
| sticks have been lighting up our homes since time | | | | was no use for fancy candles except by the rich, |
| immemorial. Though today candles play a more | | | | so the majority of colonial candles were the plain |
| ambient role in providing mood lighting and as | | | | tubular tapered ones we see in general supply |
| devices used to aid in relaxation, during colonial | | | | stores. Aside from tallow candles, those with |
| times, candles were used as the main source of | | | | extra money to spend used beeswax candles, |
| lighting during the night time hours. | | | | with beeswax candles, the problem of a smelly |
| The importance of candles in colonial times is | | | | household was eliminated. This was because |
| related to the number of household tasks women | | | | beeswax candles exuded a sweet scent that |
| of the time had to do. For example, the things | | | | resulted from the bee's diet of honey and flower |
| we take for granted like preparing food, washing | | | | pollen and nectar. However, these were |
| clothes and dishes, keeping the house clean and | | | | expensive. Another colonial candle alternative |
| basically all general household maintenance work | | | | were bayberry candles. These were made from |
| required many hours of work. Today we have | | | | bayberries, were longer lasting, sweet smelling, |
| washing machines, microwave ovens, pre-cooked | | | | and widely available. However, with colonial candle |
| meals and prepared foodstuff from groceries, | | | | making techniques, creating bayberry candles |
| that we do not realize how hard it is to maintain a | | | | were a time consuming process and the vast |
| household back in the colonial era. Back then, | | | | amount of berries to produce just one candle |
| work didn't end when the sun came down, it | | | | didn't make it a feasible alternative to tallow |
| went on all throughout the night, and so the | | | | candles. |
| importance of candles back then cannot be | | | | Today, you can get into colonial candle making, by |
| stressed fully. So what were the colonial candle | | | | rolling out bayberry and beeswax candles. These |
| making techniques of people back then? | | | | two are as popular today as they were back |
| Colonial candle making did not use the now | | | | then, particularly for their scents. Find a bayberry |
| ubiquitous paraffin wax, but rather, they used | | | | candle today and you can see for yourself how |
| animal fats, rendering them into a substance called | | | | cleanly they burn. Colonial candle making has had a |
| Tallow. Tallow behaved pretty much like wax in | | | | huge impact on today's candle making industry, |
| that they can be melted and dipped to make fat | | | | though not on beeswax candles or bayberry |
| tapered candles. However, unlike wax of today, | | | | candles, but rather the candle mold. Colonial candle |
| tallow was soft resulting in their relatively short | | | | making required a quick, efficient way to produce |
| lifespan, they don't burn brightly and worst of all, | | | | thousand of candles in a short time, so the mold |
| they smell bad. A far cry from the scented | | | | was invented. So in a way, if you are making |
| candles we see everywhere today, but it did the | | | | candles using a mold, with beeswax and/or |
| job and lighting the house was much more | | | | bayberries (or if you want true authenticity, |
| important than the bad smell. As you can imagine, | | | | tallow), effectively, you are making your own |
| colonial households kept large amounts of tallow | | | | candles in the colonial way! |
| candle stocks, especially during the winter. | | | | |