Why do we?.......?

Question

light candles for people that have died?What is the significance?And are you meant to let the candle burn right down?

i lost a family member today and lit a candle but then thought "why do we do this?!

Answer 1

im not sure but i think its meant to represent their life

Answer 2

There are soooo many different traditions surrounding death and the proper observance towards it that it is tough to express them all.

Many of our traditions come from a time that was very different from now. That does not make them wrong or right; they are traditions.

Candlelight vigils are very common when someone's state of life is uncertain: ill, lost at sea, missing, wrongly imprisoned, etc. Some do it as a showing of support and hope, especially when there is nothing directly that they can do. It can be a visual representation of prayer.
Others believe that the light is a beacon to lead the lost home. A common tradition was, also, to leave a window or door open with a candle or lamp lit. The lost would be drawn to safety and welcome.

When someone is believed to have died the family would often hold a "wake" or vigil by the body.
The human body can be very resilient and people have been known (rarely but it does happen) to be in deep comas from poison and illness from which they were able to awaken. Since bodies were not embalmed, there was often a waiting period to make sure that the family member was not accidentally being buried alive (Expensive coffins sometimes even had bells on them with a string that lead inside the lid! Fear of the mistakenly buried coming back for revenge was the source of some vampire myths.).
For this reason most western cultures have a coroner. Coroners are not required to be doctors, it is there job to file legal papers identifying that the proper amount of time was waited and the necessary examinations were done. In their own way this is a vigil.

Many cultures believe that evil spirits try to harm the dead one's ghost or steal it away. The lighting of candles and incense is to drive evil spirits (and smells) away from the body. The loved ones would stand guard over the body until they were sure that the soul had gone to heaven or joined the ancestors.

As far as letting the candle burn out or blow out accidentally, usually the answer is "no", at least not within a certain amount of time. Modern vigils are usually set for a certain amount of time (say an hour); at the end of that time the candle may be extinguished. Until then it is supposed to be protected from going out (like a lighthouse of the soul).
Some candles are lit and left in remembrance (votive candles). They are meant to burn for a long time and go out on their own, or they may be extinguished and re-lit.

NEVER leave a candle unattended (not even a votive candle)! Countless fires have been started by minor accidents involving vigil candles that fell over or were unknowingly knocked over.

Answer 3

The reason why people light candles is becasue the fragrance from a candle calms the atmosphere of th eroom in terms calming people and making them feel better. Before fragrant candles were made, the romans, and many other cultures burned their fallen so they wouldnt be tied to the earth, and instead of burning the body now days we burn candles. alot more huamin to do. the world is a fucked up place.

Answer 4

It dates back to King Alfred the great. His son died in battle along with all of his men. Coincidentally his wife had been given 43 candles by someone earlier that day. 43 happened to be the exact number of people killed in the battle. One of the candles was much larger than the rest. This led the queen to believe that it represented her son and so she lit it along with all of the others. She and the King waited by the candle for 20 hours until it had burnt out completely. They assumed that this time represented the passing of their son from this life to the next.

Answer 5

Whats the deal with Yahoo! Answers Team?

Your q. - the candle is just a rememberance, called a votive candle. It may represent a prayer or a feeling. Its up to you.

Make love - not war

Answer 6

candles are lit in churches to remind us that Jesus was the light of the world and died and rose again to save us all. Lighting a candle for someone who's died or is ill is meant to remind us that there is god and heaven and we put our faith and trust in them, god watches over those who are prayed for and had a candle lit. Its a kind of personal message to god, just saying that we want god to watch over those we care for. It can mean whatever you want it to mean.

Answer 7

i think the candles r lit in their memory. It is a type of prayer done to say that wherever they r after death they remain happy there and their souls get moksha......
I think this is enough........

Answer 8

The church started that - they made money because you needed their candles which the church produced.

If you really want to know go to this website. It is very interresting.

http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/candles.htm

Here you will find all the answers.

Answer 9

I'm not sure either its not just when someone has died i do it when someone is ill .Its my way of saying a prayer for them

Answer 10

I never got that one either, when i used to go to church... maybe it's a symbol that you're thinking about people..