Where Did Candles Originated?

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Candles were one of the
main means of lighting houses for centuries. It is thought that the Egyptians
were the first people to make candles by using reeds to makes torches that they
sopped in wax, but they were wickless. By 3000 B.C they made beeswax candles.
The Romans are said to have made the first candles using wicks. The lit their
homes and temples with these candles and used them to see outside at night. The
fat of whales was used to make candles in China in the Qin Dynasty period 221-206 BC. The people
of India boiled cinnamon and gathered that wax to light
their temples. The oil of the candlefish was used to produce “candles” in the Pacific Northwest.These candles were made with tallow, which comes from the
suet of cattle and sheep. During the Medieval era, they began to use beeswax to
make candles. This is the substance that bees make honeycombs with that they
produce with their bodies. The beeswax candle didn’t smoke like the tallow
candles did so it improved the performance of candles. The 19thc brought more
improvements in candles and the candle making process. In 1834, Joseph Morgan
developed better production method; he used a cylinder to mould the candles and
a piston removed them as they hardened. So he invented an assembly line
technique for making candles.

In 1850 the residue from refining crude oil through
distillation was discovered to burn without leaving an odor and burned clean
enough to be used for making candles.
The use of stearic acid climbed at the end of the 19^th and it
was used to harden candles made with paraffin wax. This saved paraffin candles
because otherwise their low melting point would have deterred their use. In
1879 candle use took a huge drop because of the use of the light bulb became
popular.

During the early part of the 20^th century the
oil and meat packing industries rose in the United
States and increased the main
ingredients paraffin and stearic acid of which candles were produced. The soy
candle is a relative newcomer to kindle history; Michael Richards invented them
in 1991, while he endeavored to create a less expensive alternative to beeswax.
After trying various vegetable oils he settled on soy as the main ingredient
and by 1996 he had figured out how-to make candles from soy that were
economical to produce.

Since his huge candle ingredient and method invention, soy
candles have gained in popularity among candle makers and the candle buying
public. They are now more sought after than paraffin candles. Soy candles burn
clean they and their wicks are made without toxic chemicals. Paraffin candles
have many chemicals in them; the EPA names around sixteen of these toxins and
they are released when the paraffin candles are burned. This and the unsightly
black residue from smoke that paraffin candles leave on glass containers are
two reasons for the popularity of soy candles. Another is that soy candles burn
longer.