12/23/2020
THE BAYBERRY CANDLE POEM
"This bayberry candle comes from a friend,
So on Christmas Eve burn it down to the end.�
For a bayberry candle burned to the socket
will bring joy to the heart and gold to the pocket."
When the first settlers arrived on our shores, every moment was one of survival. Everything was in short supply including candles. Generally candles were made of tallow (animal fat), which tends to smoke and give off an odor. They can turn rancid as well.
It didn't take long for the early colonists to discover that the abundant bayberry bush had berries that would give off a waxy residue when boiled. They learned to collect and save the bayberry wax that would rise to the surface of the water and make them into taper candles. The bayberry tapers burned longer and cleaner than the tallow version.
The truth is, it takes a lot of bayberries to make enough wax to make a single taper. These bayberry tapers were a real treasure to the colonists and were saved for special occasions. To have a bayberry candle was a luxury to be saved and relished.
Buyer beware: Today, many retailers sell bayberry candles that are only fragranced with bayberry; not made with bayberry was.
It became the tradition to burn your bayberry candle on Christmas or New Years Eve to bring blessings of abundance in the coming year. It is not known who actually came up with the traditional bayberry candle poem. But the tradition continues to this day.
It is believed that you should light your bayberry candle on the eve of your holiday of choice and allow it to burn completely until it goes out on it's own.
