represent the spirits of the dead. In the United States
and Europe, people celebrate this same seasonal festival
with candles inside hollowed-out pumpkins; however,
these candles are to chase away spirits, not honor them.
The Catholic religion uses an ever-burning flame,
hung above the altar, to alert worshippers of the
presence of the communion host. Catholic churches also
have racks of votive candles, which can be lit by those
presenting petitions and desires to Mary or one of the
saints. Devotional candles are very popular with the
worshippers of several religions. These lights may be in
the form of votive, taper, or novena candles, which are
offered to a particular saint, deity, or Loa (a deity in
certain African religions) in a petition for their help.
To mark birthdays, several cultures use a tall candle
measured into twenty-one segments. This candle is
blessed and lit on the first birthday of a child. Then, it is
relit on each consecutive birthday and allowed to burn
down to a mark; this is repeated until the child turns
twenty-one. This is enacted in the form of a petition to a
deity so that the child may have a happy, healthy life.
The candles commonly placed on top of a birthday cake
have much the same meaning.
As far back as very ancient history, funerals have also
used fire in many forms. Cremation was believed to
release the soul immediately into the afterworld.
Torches and candles often lined a processional path to
the burial site or place of cremation, symbolically
guiding the soul to the invisible door that led to
Valhalla, heaven, or whatever the culture believed to be
the Otherworld.
Likewise, candles are often used at weddings, this
time with a different connotation. The flame of the
candles traditionally signals the presence of deities who