Comment by Jean Sullivan Cardinal on December 16, 2014 at 2:05pm

My Grandmother from Limerick told us the story of the candle in the window,  I still put one in my window at Christmas.

Comment by DJ Kelly on December 17, 2014 at 1:59am

Nice article, Cindy. My belief is that the Christmas candle probably began with the Pagan lighting of the Yule log, also meant to connect with ancestors and to encourage the return of the sun. Other pre-Christian faiths, including Judaism, Hinduism etc., still have a winter festival of lights. Like many Pagan practices, it was subsumed by Christianity. The Protestants discouraged what they saw as 'Popish practices' such as kneeling before candles, images and statues,  and so it persisted mainly amongst Catholic families. However, my own Irish Protestant ancestors kept up the candle traditions as well as the burning of the tar barrel which is, I suspect, a little more Viking in origin. Whatever the origin or intention, it is interesting that even today we still love candlelight to lighten the winter nights. 

Comment by Cindy Thomson on December 17, 2014 at 10:54am

It's wonderful to carry on traditions. Thanks for reading, Jean. Thanks for sharing your thoughts too, DJ. I'm sure there are some roots there.

Comment by Peter Power-Hynes on December 26, 2015 at 8:15am

The 'Candle in the Window' theme was specifically mentioned by President Mary Robinson in her memorable inaugural speech 'as Uachtarán na hÉireann'. She famously put a symbolic light in the kitchen window in Áras an Uachtaráin, to remember the Irish Diaspora.

"Throughout her presidency, she honored the Irish diaspora, speaking about the millions of Irish emigrants from the 18th through the 20th centuries, and their roughly 80 million descendants around the world — most notably in a speech to the Oireachtas in 1995 (Robinson 1995) — and, from her first days in office, burning a lamp in the shape of a candle in the window of the Presidential residence (Áras an Uachtaráin) in Dublin (Finlay 1990). Such was the effect of her publicizing the issue of Irish emigration that Article 2 of the Irish Constitution was amended in 1998 to reflect the importance of the diaspora to Irish history and culture (“Irish diaspora” 2010)."

{http://stanford.io/1Tl8E6h}

Heritage Partner Comment by That's Just How It Was on December 28, 2015 at 10:06am

O I remember only too well , the candle being lit by my Granny O'Rourke, It was a lit as we came home from Mid- night Mass  to show us the light of the world . To light the way for Mary and Joseph  to a stable in Bethlehem , for all the soldiers who were still at war, for all those men who woudl never come home. .............. I still light a candle very Christmas Eve and out it in my window,........... for all the same reasons and more . 

Comment by John Anthony Brennan on December 23, 2017 at 2:44pm

Another great slice of Irish history.

Comment by Mike McCormack on December 23, 2018 at 2:05pm

May I respectfully add to the story with a bit more information.  On Christmas Eve, the windows of the house were decorated with garlands of holly and ivy with candles centered in each, often in a hollowed-out turnip for support.  The Christmas Wreath we know today should remind us of that Irish tradition which began back in 16th century, when Penal Laws outlawed the Catholic religion and clergy.  The Irish, intent on keeping their faith, secretly met outlawed priests to celebrate Mass in the woods and mountains whenever they could.  Mass might be celebrated once a month, or even less, but one time they never missed was Christmas.  In spite of persecution, Christmas still brought hope.  An alien power may have controlled the land, but they couldn’t control the hearts of the Irish; they still had their customs, faith, and pride, and by God they would have their Mass.  Some of those customs, by the way, were older than the race that ruled them, originating back in pre-Christian days, like the ringing of doors and windows with holly and ivy.  That came from the ancient Celtic custom of ringing the openings of a dwelling with those magical leaves to ward off the evils of winter.  After all, holly and ivy remained green when all other plants died, so they were deemed immune to the killing force of winter.  The custom carried into the Christian era as a decorative function, and the Brits marveled at the hope that still burned in hearts they had tried so hard to turn.  The source of that hope was their faith; and in each community, courageous families would risk fine and imprisonment to attend a mid-night Mass celebrated by an outlawed priest, and an especially brave family would host the celebration.  Naturally, the house to be used was kept secret until just before the Mass was to begin, at which time a lighted candle was placed in the window to signal the faithful.  Once the signal was given, candles were lit in every house window to confuse any who might try to interfere with the celebration.  To the Irish, the meaning of the candle was clear, but to the stranger, it was merely an extension of the pagan custom of holiday decoration.  The candle, eventually became part of the custom, remaining long after its need as a signal disappeared.  Today’s wreath serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by our ancestors who placed a candle in a holly-encircled window to send out the message "The Lord is in this house tonight"

Comment by Walter Crawford on December 25, 2020 at 9:49pm

Thanks for the very interesting explaination.

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