This time of year the glowing light of my lighted candles flickering in
the window gives a great welcome to all my friends who happen to walk up
my garden path to pay me a visit. Candles are fashionable and attractive
Yuletide decorations. Our ancestors sometimes used the candle as an alternative
to the Yule Log. Lighting it at dawn on Christmas Day. It would burn till
midnight ensuring prosperity and luck. In Ireland the Christmas Candle is
usually a large red one. Decorated with holly. Standing in a scooped-out
turnip, it is placed in the main window on Christmas Eve to guide the Holy
Family to shelter; our churches are often decked with greenery and lit with
candles on Christmas Eve. The Christian Church uses candles to represent
Christ, the light of the world, Can there be any more welcoming sight at
this time of year?