Talk:Votive candle

Image change
I changed the second image of candles here because the candles in it were very similar to those pictured in the first. While I'm not well-versed in the types of votive candles used in ceremonies in the eastern hemisphere, in the United States and much of Latin America, you'll frequently see candles of the nature pictured in Image:Votive candles.jpg, which tend to be more colorful and often include words and pictures on the glass container. The new image helps to better represent that. Tijuana Brass 00:08, 14 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't think these are normally called votive candles, but they are certainly Novena candles. They are burned for the 9 days of a Novena in the Catholic church.  In Santería and other Yoruba-based religions they are extremely common.  Similar candles, but without the Catholic iconography, are used in Wiccan magick for 7 days, thus their common name of "Seven Day Candles".  I am not as strongly versed in their use in the Catholic Church as in the other uses, but I definitely recognize candles dedicated to Saint Michael (Chango) and Our Lady of Caridad Del Cobre (Oshun) among the more traditionally popular images.  I would recommend reverting the picture. NightBear (talk) 14:47, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

NPOV tag
Going over this article, it has been written in a way that defines votive candles in somewhat narrow, exclusive terms -- it feels like I'm reading the individual experience of a couple of people rather than a good description of the many forms which I've seen these candles take. To give some examples, the first section, which is Catholic-centric, doesn't necessarily outline how I've seen candles used in all Catholic churches. The third part, which seems like an evangelical aside (and appears to be mostly OR), is more instructive than encyclopedic. And I see no description of the role that votives play in Latin American religion, which is unique from Anglo churches.

I'll try to clean things up a little in the near future, but in the meantime, I've added an NPOV tag to inform readers that the description given here is flawed. Tijuana Brass (talk) 05:18, 20 November 2007 (UTC) . The statement that one should choose to be a Chatholic because it is the right religon for all is clearly pushing someones own personal opinion.

Judaism
There is no discussion of votive candles in Judaism. Shabbat candles, holiday candles, Hannukah candles and yahrzeit candles are all votive... 75.3.229.144 (talk) 03:34, 29 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Feel free to add a section about Judaism if you have referneces. Tarheelz123 (talk) 22:34, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Should this really have four different stub tags? It seems like one general tag would suffice, since it currently needs additions for several different religions. --y halo thar (talk) 18:50, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Methodism
Why was the Methodism section removed? I know for a fact that UMC parishes use votive candles on during their liturgy for All Saints Day. --Willthacheerleader18 (talk) 11:52, 5 September 2010 (UTC)


 * I readded the section. --Willthacheerleader18 (talk) 02:59, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Need specifics to help the ignorant (me)
How long do prayer candles burn? Who blows them out, and when? If a prayer candle is blown out too soon, does the prayer not come true? If you tell someone what you prayed for, does that invalidate the prayer? After you light all the prayer candles you need, do you light an extra one "to grow on"? --Captain Infinity (talk) 00:43, 27 January 2013 (UTC)
 * ~laughs~ I can understand why someone would think, “Oh, what? Are these like birthday candles?” I’m not Catholic, but I am Christian, so I think I can say pretty confidently that it’s not about the candle itself; it’s the faith behind the candle. Lighting the candle is just an outward sign that you have faith that your prayers will be answered in some way. It’s like anointing with oil. It’s not that the oil itself has any magic healing properties; it’s the faith behind the action of anointing with oil. That reminds me, if you meet someone claiming that he or she can sell you a candle that can grant wishes, or some kind of oil/potion that’s guaranteed to heal any sickness, you should back away and probably call the police.
 * As for how long they burn, I really can't answer. If I use one, I blow it out after finishing my prayers. I will note that there are different sizes of votive candles, so that would make a difference. I have to say, of all the posts asking, “What the blazes is up with this?” yours is my favorite. By the way, did you hear the joke about the couple who told their priest that they wanted to have children? The priest told them that he was making a trip to the Vatican, and that he’d light a candle for them. Sometime later he paid the house a visit and discovered that they had had triplets (the wife may have been pregnant again too; I don't remember exactly). He asked where the husband was and the wife replied, “He’s gone to the Vatican to blow out that candle.” Evernut (talk) 13:28, 8 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Santeria / Espiritismo / Voodoo
Catholic style 7 day candles are often used in Santeria, Espiritismo, Voodoo and other religions practiced by latin@ people. The saints on the candles are said to represent different orishas/dieties/spirits not related to the saints pictured. Honestly I think these candles are more often used in this way than the way they are intended to be used. I'm not sure what a good definitive source would be for this sort of information as it seems to be mostly cultural and word of mouth. Meskarune (talk) 05:51, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

"Small" candle.
The second image shows how most candles are actually unwieldingly large and thick, and somehow Wikipedia describes these things as "small"? 181.143.239.2 (talk) 21:37, 22 January 2024 (UTC)