Why do people light candles for deaths?

Question

Like.. i wana know what its meant to symbolise, when you light a candle for someone whose passed??? and how long do u light it for etc.

Answer 1

THE use of lights as an adjunct to worship goes back to the beginning of the Church, and even farther. Among the Jews and in many pagan rites the use of lights had long been looked upon as appropriate in connection with public homage to their God or gods. It is probable that among Christians they were first employed simply to dispel darkness, when the sacred mysteries were celebrated before dawn, as was the custom, or in the gloom of the catacombs; but the beautiful symbolism of their use was soon recognized by the writers of the early Church.



The Symbolism of Candles.
Light is pure; it penetrates darkness; it moves with incredible velocity; it nourishes life; it illumines all that comes under its influence. Therefore it is a fitting symbol of God, the All Pure, the Omnipresent, the Vivifier of all things, the Source of all grace and enlightenment. It represents also our Blessed Savior and His mission. He was "the Light of the world,"[John 8:12, NAB] to enlighten "them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death."[Luke 1:79, NAB; see also Matthew 4:16 , NAB.]

1John 1:5 "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all." NRSV, NAB.
Even the use of wax has its symbolic meaning. The earlier Fathers of the Church endeavored always to seek out the mystical significance of Christian practices, and one of them thus explains the reason for the Church's law requiring candles to be of wax:

"The wax, being spotless, represents Christ's most spotless Body; the wick enclosed in it is an image of His Soul, while the glowing flame typifies the Divine Nature united with the human in one Divine Person."

In addition, the flame, and thus fire, is a symbol of God according to scripture:

Acts 7:30 "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." NRSV, NAB.

Matt. 3:11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." NRSV, NAB.

Acts 2:1 "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." NRSV, NAB.

Deut. 4:32 "For ask now about former ages, long before your own, ever since the day that God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of heaven to the other: has anything so great as this ever happened or has its like ever been heard of? 33 Has any people ever heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and lived?" NRSV, NAB.

1Kgs. 18: 24 [Elijah said] "then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the LORD; the god who answers by fire is indeed God." All the people answered, "Well spoken!" NRSV, NAB.

Ps. 68:2 "As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God." NRSV, NAB.

Heb. 12:29 "...for indeed our God is a consuming fire." NRSV, NAB, quoting Deut. 4:24 NIV, NAB.

Rev. 2:18 "These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire..." Emphasis added.] NRSV, NAB.
[Therefore, the candles burning next to the ambo or altar should remind us especially of the tongues of fire that appeared above the apostles when the Holy Spirit descended on them at Pentecost. Just as God was present in them, he is present in the Word of God, and at the altar during the liturgy of the Eucharist.]

Answer 2

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Well... for me, it brings to mind the Old Testament and how, in the Tabernacle and in the Temples, they had flames burning to take the prayers of the living to heaven. Burning sacrifices to send the essence to the Lord was also common place. Later (New Testament) the scriptures say things like a candle that is set under a bush cannot be seen, and that we must put our light where all men can see it, up on a hill. To me, that seems to indicate again that we shouldn't hide our faith. We shouldn't pray for others to see, but we also shouldn't hide it. Now, in the case of someone dying, it could symbolize the prayers of the people still on Earth. We did that once with one of my friends who had passed on, and seeing that there were so many candles lit against the darkness remembering her brought a feeling of peace that none of us were alone in missing her. It could symbolize the lives left behind who say goodbye. It could symbolize the determination of the people behind not to hide their memory. It could symbolize how memories can warm someone, when enough of them are shared. I've heard it described as remembering the light of their spirit and how eventually we will all meet again. A symbol really only means something to the people involved in it, and if you like one meaning of a symbol and not another then you can easily adopt it. But from a Christian standpoint, we have scriptures that reference lighting a light and the connection between a candle burning and prayers to heaven.

Answer 3

Somebody is going to give you a precise answer, soon, because I'm certain it goes way back into antiquity, but, essentially, to show respect and acknowledgement of grief, of course. I was an altar boy and must have lit a thousand candles for Mass, and still don't know why. But High Mass sure was impressive!

Answer 4

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RE:
Why do people light candles for deaths?
Like.. i wana know what its meant to symbolise, when you light a candle for someone whose passed??? and how long do u light it for etc.

Answer 5

Manifold reasons -one here: flame symbolizes the soul, the burning, the remembered life which has spent, and the seeing the candle brings a call to remembrance.

In Judaism, man is likened to a flickering flame. That's why some sway back and forth in prayer and reading scripture..

God bless.

Answer 6

I think it's to pay their respects to the people who died and I think someone use a lighter to light the candles.

Answer 7

I think it represents the light each person possess inside, or the soul. It can also be a simple jester to honor their lives. In some sacred spaces the light represents a guidance to those who are being summoned.

Answer 8

the burning of candles or lights has been linked with dead and death from primitive times. they are still used to light a bier and to give special expression to grief.
Catholics light votive candles on All Souls Day in memory of the faithful departed. jews burn a lamp for 24 hours every uear of the actual anniversary of the death of a loved one. japanese celebrate the destival of lanterns. a perpetual light burns on Christ's tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. a candle burns at every Catholic Church when Christ is present in the tabernacle. this is so that He is never left in the dark AND to let people know that hey are in the house with God & to be respectful.
the word funreal itself has been derived from the latin funus meaning "torch". it was believed that torches and lights at a funeral could guide the departed soul to its eternal abobde. lamps, it was considreed, aided the dead to find their way through the darkness.

later times rationalized the flickering light of the candle as a simile of human life & saw the steady glow a symbol of the soul, itself a spark from the never-dying flame of the divine.

originally though flames around dead people and new-born babies was to keep away evil spirits for they could only operate in the cover of darkness. people who feared death would often light candles to try to keep death at bay.

i like going to church and lighting the candles, watching the flame and smoke and getting lost in the nothingness surrounding that when i'm in prayer. Christ IS the light of the world and we are to shine His light to all men -- this is what the flame f the candle represents to me.

Answer 9

It gives them light to see the path they're heading too.

Answer 10

good question ..

My mom would do this also on my grandmothers birthday every year. My mom was an atheist .. but she was also spiritual ..
as for why for the candle ? I dunno