candlemas

i recently acquired 10 pounds of unfiltered beeswax (and one gallon of honey) from a local bee guy. he actually only would sell me a 20 pound block, but i split that with a friend (using a power tool).

in observation of candlemas yesterday, we decided to make beeswax candles. this was on a whim, so i didn't have any of the 'real' candle making tools on hand. we just made do.

after placing the wax block on an old cookie sheet, i set it in the oven on the 'warmer' function. while it was getting warm, i read luke 2:22-39, which is the scripture that the christian observance of candlemas is based on. after the wax was warm enough i sliced some off. we put our shavings in an old tomato sauce can and made our own double broiler by placing that in a pot of water set on a low boil.

while i waited for the wax to melt, the kids worked on 'flower fairies' to celebrate the upcoming spring (no matter what that pesky ground-hog has to say!).

once the wax melted, i carefully poured it into three jars. after it cooled a bit, but before it solidified, the kids added bits of broken crayon for a little color.

i didn't have any wick materials on hand, so i opted for leftover birthday candles. these eventually melted down and 'became one' with the beeswax candle, enabling us to have some sort of wick.

we shut the blinds, lit the candles, and sang some love songs to jesus.

it was really a lovely morning.