The everyday luxury of candlelight
I used to save candles for special occasions.
Redolent of birthday parties, church ritual, romantic dinners and power cuts, they couldn’t possibly be for weekday evenings in front of the TV. No, they were for celebrations – that moment of anticipation, switching lamps off before carefully stepping out of the kitchen, decorated cake in shaking hands, the first notes of ‘Happy birthday’ on the lips… or for drinks and dinner on Christmas Eve, jewellery and silverware glimmering in their gentle glow.
Candles, just like fireworks on a summer night or the twinkling of fairy lights in the depths of winter, were full of the magic of light in the dark, and too precious to waste on an ordinary day. Scented candles seemed even more decadent, their fleeting perfume an added luxury – they were to be burnt just a little at a time, only at that elusive, perfect moment.
I am someone who never dresses up or down, who wears make-up every single day, who uses the same best quality pencils whether to write a shopping list or sketch a calligraphy commission. I don’t know why I was keeping candles ‘for best’, or at least only for weekends.
Now that I live alone, there is no one to curl up on the sofa with, no more of the gentle chatter that makes a house a home. When I first went back to work after months of bereavement leave, evenings suddenly felt endless – shapeless – cold. So I started lighting candles. And then I bought incense too. I cleared up the top of the sideboard in my living room and arranged all my supplies: a box of matches, my favourite scissors to trim wicks and snip beeswax candles apart, a beautiful incense stand and dish, a book of papier d’Arménie, a stack of charcoal incense sticks and, of course, candles.
Most evenings I choose one to light before I settle down, wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, the light and scent filling the room, all perfumed comfort and enveloping peace. And still, striking the match evokes celebration – of the here and now.
Candles & incense
The Future Kept sells a wonderful range of candles and incense, including some of my favourites: Papier d’Arménie incense paper and candles and Piñon incense sticks.
The Smallest Light makes beautiful, seasonal scented candles.
I get my beeswax candles locally from Objects of Use, and also love Wax Atelier candles.
Our Lovely Goods make some very evocatively scented candles.
