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Once early man had discovered fire, the next step was to carry it to where he wanted to provide warmth and light. The first candles took the form of crude resinous torches. Following this, man wanted something that would last (burn) longer. He discovered that wood, when torn apart, produced fibers that could be twisted and formed into 'wicks' that would lengthen the burning time.
The development of candles follows that of man's. It is believed that the first contact with light may have been with volcanic fires. Not only was fire and light a source of warmth but it became a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and religious worship.
Although the history of candles is not recorded, it is believed that the Egyptians produced the first candles by dipping reeds into animal fat. Evidence of candle holders from as early the fourth century have been found in Egypt and there are several references to candles in the Bible.
The Jewish Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah (Chanukah), began in 165 B.C. This eight day celebration centers on the lighting of candles, feasting and the exchanging of gifts. Historically it is the celebration of the Jews successful revolt against the King of Syria's mandate that his subjects worship the Greek Gods.
The first candles used by the Romans were used in religious ceremonies and as a source of lighting and decoration in their court settings, pageants and banquet rooms. It is believed they were made both as torches and with wax or tallow with the wicks being made from papyrus.
Early candles were made with ropes of dried vegetable fibers, sticks or flax threads dipped in pitch, saturated fats, natural resins, tar, or wax or in various mixtures of the later. When resinous woods were scarce, the pith of rushes reeds and grasses were used as wicks.
Eventually candles made with wicks from twisted cotton surrounded by greaseless sterine, bayberry wax, beeswax and spermaceti replaced, and were a great improvement over, the earlier candles.
Early Chinese and Japanese candles were molded in paper tubes with a wax made from an insect known as a "Cocus" mixed with seeds from various trees. The wicks were made of rolled-up rice paper. In India candles were made from wax skimmed from boiling cinnamon as use of animals fats was prohibited by religious decree. Along the Northwest coast of North American the Indians discovered that they could produce light by inserting the oily candlefish (dried smelt) into the Y of a slit stick and lighting it. In Shetland the Stormy Petrel as well as other birds known to have a high content of fat in their bodies were hunted, killed, dried and had wicks put down their throats in order to produce light.
The pioneer Americans made candles from dipping wicks in bear's grease, deer suet or moose fat. They soon discovered that small amounts of bayberry or beeswax improved the candles. The candles made with berries gave off a pleasant fragrance when extinguished instead of the fatty smell given off by tallow candles. It was also found that the candles made with bayberry were not greasy to the touch and did not melt in hot weather.
Candles have become part of many traditions and beliefs throughout man's history. Ancient customs decreed that a candle be lit at the time of death to prevent demons from seizing the soul of the dying. The Greeks and Romans lit candles or torches to accompany the dead to his last home. Candles used in churches until the 15th century were made of beeswax because it was thought that bees originated in Paradise.
Fortunes were once told from reading candle drippings and it was believed that the only night of the year it was safe to discuss evil spirits was on Christmas Eve when the lighted candles burned.
Puritans primed their Christmas candles with a bit of gunpowder to usher Christmas in with a flash and an explosion.
These are just some of the customs and beliefs connected to candles and candlelight. Some of the most important classics were written by candlelight and still, today, the candle holds it place in our day to day life. From romantic dinners to special celebrations candles have evolved from functional items to creative centerpieces. Now considered works of art, hundreds of people have found candle making to be a satisfying hobby.
source: http://www.igca.net/candlemaking/historyofcandles.asp
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Candles have been used for light and to illuminate man's celebrations for more than 5,000 years, yet little is known about their origin.
It is often written that the first candles were developed by the Ancient Egyptians, who used rushlights or torches made by soaking the pithy core of reeds in melted animal fat. However, the rushlights had no wick like a true candle.
Early Wicked Candles
The Egyptians were using wicked candles in 3,000 B.C., but the ancient Romans are generally credited with developing the wicked candle before that time by dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or beeswax. The resulting candles were used to light their homes, to aid travelers at night, and in religious ceremonies.
Historians have found evidence that many other early civilizations developed wicked candles using waxes made from available plants and insects. Early Chinese candles are said to have been molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds. In Japan, candles were made of wax extracted from tree nuts, while in India, candle wax was made by boiling the fruit of the cinnamon tree.
It is also known that candles played an important role in early religious ceremonies. Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights which centers on the lighting of candles, dates back to 165 B.C. There are several Biblical references to candles, and the Emperor Constantine is reported to have called for the use of candles during an Easter service in the 4th century.
Middle Ages
Most early Western cultures relied primarily on candles rendered from animal fat (tallow). A major improvement came in the Middle Ages, when beeswax candles were introduced in Europe. Unlike animal-based tallow, beeswax burned pure and cleanly, without producing a smoky flame. It also emitted a pleasant sweet smell rather than the foul, acrid odor of tallow. Beeswax candles were widely used for church ceremonies, but because they were expensive, few individuals other than the wealthy could afford to burn them in the home.
Tallow candles were the common household candle for Europeans, and by the 13th century, candlemaking had become a guild craft in England and France. The candlemakers (chandlers) went from house to house making candles from the kitchen fats saved for that purpose, or made and sold their own candles from small candle shops.
Colonial Times
Colonial women offered America's first contribution to candlemaking, when they discovered that boiling the grayish-green berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned cleanly. However, extracting the wax from the bayberries was extremely tedious. As a result, the popularity of bayberry candles soon diminished.
The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages, when spermaceti -- a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil -- became available in quantity. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned, and produced a significantly brighter light. It also was harder than either tallow or beeswax, so it wouldn't soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first "standard candles" were made from spermaceti wax.
19th Century Advances
Most of the major developments impacting contemporary candlemaking occurred during the 19th century. In the 1820s, French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul discovered how to extract stearic acid from animal fatty acids. This lead to the development of stearin wax, which was hard, durable and burned cleanly. Stearin candles remain popular in Europe today.
In 1834, inventor Joseph Morgan helped to further the modern-day candle industry by developing a machine that allowed for continuous production of molded candles by using a cylinder with a movable piston to eject candles as they solidified. With the introduction of mechanized production, candles became an easily affordable commodity for the masses.
Paraffin wax was introduced in the 1850s, after chemists learned how to efficiently separate the naturally-occurring waxy substance from petroleum and refine it. Odorless and bluish-white in color, paraffin was a boon to candlemaking because it burned cleanly, consistently and was more economical to produce than any other candle fuel. Its only disadvantage was a low melting point. This was soon overcome by adding the harder stearic acid, which had become widely available. With the introduction of the light bulb in 1879, candlemaking began to decline.
The 20th Century
Candles enjoyed renewed popularity during the first half of the 20th century, when the growth of U.S. oil and meatpacking industries brought an increase in the byproducts that had become the basic ingredients of candles - paraffin and stearic acid.
The popularity of candles remained steady until the mid-1980s, when interest in candles as decorative items, mood-setters and gifts began to increase notably. Candles were suddenly available in a broad array of sizes, shapes and colors, and consumer interest in scented candles began to escalate.
The 1990s witnessed an unprecedented surge in the popularity of candles, and for the first time in more than a century, new types of candle waxes were being developed. In the U.S., agricultural chemists began to develop soybean wax, a softer and slower burning wax than paraffin. On the other side of the globe, efforts were underway to develop palm wax for use in candles.
Today's Candles
Candles have come a long way since their initial use. Although no longer man's major source of light, they continue to grow in popularity and use. Today, candles symbolize celebration, mark romance, soothe the senses, define ceremony, and accent home décors - casting a warm and lovely glow for all to enjoy.
source: http://www.candles.org/about_history.html
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1991 - In 1991 Michael Richards founded Candleworks to manufacture beeswax candles. As he entered the candle industry with beeswax products he realized there was a growing demand for natural wax candles. However, there was a huge economic barrier. Namely, the cost of beeswax was 10 times the cost of petroleum candle wax (paraffin). In July, Michael Richards started experimenting with a wide range of plant waxes and vegetable oils to find a natural wax that could be cost-competitive with petroleum wax. He completed thousands of hours of tests with tropical plant waxes such as carnauba and candelilla waxes, plus domestic oils such as corn and soybean oil.
1992-1994 - In 1992, this testing resulted in the first vegetable wax candle, made from a blend of vegetable oils and natural waxes. At that stage of development, the vegetable wax was hard and brittle. To obtain a softer, more pliable wax, Michael started to acquire and test a wider range of tropical and domestic plant oils. This included partially hydrogenated coconut, palm, and soybean oils. Michael Richards continued working on two parallel tracks:
Manufacturing beeswax candles, and Research and development for other vegetable wax candles. In 1994 Michael started blending beeswax with soybean oil to achieve an economical natural wax candle.
1995 - The Body Shop, a national chain of stores that was Candleworks' main beeswax candle customer, issued the first purchase orders for a line of natural wax aromatherapy candles from Candleworks. For the first three months, the content of the Body Shop candle wax was a blend of beeswax and almond oil. Because of the increasingly high cost of almond oil, Michael then started blending soybean oil with the beeswax. He completely replaced almond oil with soybean oil in all commercial production of candles in May of 1995.
1996 - Michael then experimented with various ranges of hydrogenated soybean oil to eliminate the costly beeswax in his natural wax formula. In the fall of 1996, beeswax was no longer used. Instead, the candle wax developed and utilized by Candleworks featured hydrogenated soybean oil as the majority percentage of the candle formula. Other vegetable oils were then added in minority portions to achieve specific cosmetic characteristics, such as a smooth even surface and scent projection. Michael created low-melt soy wax for container candles and a high-melt point wax for freestanding pillar candles in 1996.
1996 - With the goal of creating an edible birthday cake candle, Purdue University students developed their own candle formula using soybean oil. The candles won first place in a competition sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Development Council and Purdue's Department of Agronomy.
1997 - Candleworks negotiated with the University of Iowa to provide a chemical engineering intern to test and document the new soy waxes developed by Michael Richards. This resulted in a report prepared for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship titled: "Increasing the Use of Soybeans in the Manufacturing of Candles".
1998 - The Indiana Soybean Board unveiled a brand of candles called Harvest Lights made from soybeans at the Farm Progress Show. The development of these candles was completely farmer-funded through the Soybean Checkoff program. This formula has since been patented.
1999-2000 - Documentation of Michael's research process on the development of natural plant-based waxes from 1991 through 1999 was submitted to a patent law firm in Des Moines, Iowa (Mc Kee, Vorhees and Sease). Formal application for patent pending status was presented to the U.S. patent office the following year.
Soywax, a hydrogenated soybean oil that is used as renewable and biodegradable alternative to paraffin wax in candle-making, was investigated for its tendency of producing soot and potentially harmful organic volatiles (e.g. acrolein, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) during candle burning. While a considerable amount of soot was produced from the combustion of paraffin candles under disturbed condition (simulated air movement), little or none was observed from soywax candles. Low level of formaldehyde was detected in paraffin candle fume, but it was not present in significant quantity in the soywax candle fume. Acrolein was not detected in either type of candles. Soywax candles burned at a significantly lower rate than paraffin candles did. Thermal, textural and combustion properties, such as melting and solidification profiles, candle surface temperature distribution, hardness and adhesiveness, and burning rate, of a hydrogenated vegetable oil were also investigated. Effect of adding hydrogenated palm oil, free fatty acids, and paraffin on these functional properties were quantified.
2001 - Cargill purchased intellectual property rights in Michael's soy wax innovation. Cargill now manufactures soybean wax formulas developed by Michael. MIchael continues to market the soy wax in the industry and provide technical training for other candle manufacturers in the use of soy wax.
2002 - Michael Richards launched a nationwide guild of local candle manufacturers called "Village Chandler". This guild is committed to the use of soy wax in candle production. (At present there are more than 102 Village Chandlers in 27 states and Canada and Central America).
2003 - This soy wax innovation is fast-becoming a new national industry. Today, soy candles manufacturers range from numerous entrepreneurs to major manufacturers like Hanna's Candle Company (one of the five largest candle companies in the U.S.).
source: http://www.ecolightcandles.com/history.htm
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The use of Aromatherapy actually predates written history. Combinations of resins, oils and fragrant plants were used in some form - for ceremonial, medicinal, or pleasurable reasons - in most ancient civilizations. Perfumes and aromatic plants were the basis for many of the early trade routes established among ancient civilizations. Some of the earliest documented uses of Aromatherapy were in Ancient Egypt. There, 3000-year-old papyruses have been discovered containing remedies for many types of illnesses; some of the methods of application are similar to the ones used in Aromatherapy today. The Ancient Egyptians used aromatic plants and their essential oils to create massage oils, medicines, embalming preparations, skin care products, fragrant perfumes and cosmetics. There are other written accounts of aromatic oil use in Ancient Africa, Mesopotamia, Greece, Babylon, and China. In fact, the Chinese Yellow Emperor Book of Internal Medicine, written in 2697 BC, is the oldest surviving medical book in China; it contains information on over 300 plants and their properties.
Greek and Roman civilizations later adopted the use of aromatic oils for both medicinal and cosmetic reasons. The Western world's standard medical reference for over 1200 years was a book on herbals written by the Greek physician Pedacius Dioscorides. In fact, many of his remedies are still in use in modern Aromatherapy. Aromatics were used in early Rome, where massage with oil would often follow a typical bath. The Romans, who were also voracious explorers and conquerors, expanded trade routes to East India, Arabia, and beyond. This enabled them to add a wide variety of new aromatic products to their repertoire.
Other examples of ancient cultures using some form of Aromatherapy abound. Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine, has been practiced for more than 3000 years and incorporates aromatic massage as one of its main aspects. Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans used aromatic plants and oils in ceremony and in daily life. The Aztecs specifically were well known for their plant remedies, and a wealth of medicinal plants was found in Montezuma's botanical gardens when the Spanish conquerors arrived. North American Indians also used aromatic oils, smudges, and aromatic plant-based remedies.
The modern term Aromatherapy was coined in 1928 by the French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse. Decades later, another French medical doctor Jean Valnet, inspired by Gattefosse's research, published his own work in 1964, The Practice of Aromatherapy. In 1977, Robert Tisserand released his book The Art of Aromatherapy and was successful in capturing American interest in this ancient healing art. Through Valnet's, Tisserand's, and other scientists' work of the current era, the healing science of Aromatherapy has begun to be more widely known in the West.
source: http://www.heall.com/body/altmed/treatment/aromatherapy/history.html
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