Candle making history as a main source of light dates back to 3,000 BC in Egypt and continued all the way up to, believe it or not, as recently as the early 1900s when electric lighting became popular world wide.
But the light bulb wasn't invented by Thomas Edison until 1879.
Up until that time lighting up the night was done by candles, torches, lamps and only slightly before 1879 there was street lighting by gas after which it was done by electricity.
The American Colonies used candles.
They mostly used candles made out of tallow which is a wax obtained from the fat of sheep and cows.
The colonies also made wax candles from wax derived from the surface wax of the bayberry fruit.
This wax was nice as it had a sweet smell and burned clean unlike the tallow candles.
Tallow has a bad smell and gives off smoke.
But as nice as the bayberry wax was they mostly used the tallow since it was so much easier to make.
Ben Franklin the man that discovered electricity in 1752 still used candles to read and write by.
He was one of the writers and signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Much of the discussion, writing and signing of the Declaration was done by candle light.
Even though Thomas Edison invented the light bulb did a lot of research by candle light.
The 16th president of the United States (1861 to 1865) Abe Lincoln, when he did all his abundant reading in his log cabin, it was by candle light.
Abe Lincoln was a self educated lawyer.
After the sun set all his study was done by candle light.
The Egyptians used candles made of bees wax which was a good clean burning wax but it was also expensive.
Ancient China and Japan used wax derived from seeds and even from insects.
India got wax extract when it boiled cinnamon.
A couple of hundred years BC the Chinese whalers used to hunt whales, a practice that continued pretty heavy up until the 1800s.
Moby Dick was written in 1851 by someone with a whaling background.
A superior quality wax was derived from the head cavity and blubber of the sperm whale.
It wasn't until the very tail end of the candles dominance as our light source that the perfect wax invented, paraffin wax.
When automobiles were coming into use the purification of petroleum gave off paraffin wax as a byproduct.
It was great wax but got a little soft in the hot whether.
But when stearic acid was discovered and added to the paraffin it stayed solid in the heat.
It burns nice with no odor and it is clean burning.
Even though candles are no longer necessary as a light source it is hardly the end of candle making history.
Candles will continue to be used as a decoration with all the different colors and elaborate designs.
They can set a mood and there are the scented candles which will give a room a lovely scent.