In the thousands of years since mankind first mastered Fire, the candle has become both a necessity and a luxury. From lighting and freshening the rooms of our homes, to their ceremonial role in our houses of worship, to signifying the years of our lives on birthday cakes, to setting the mood for romance, candles touch our lives in countless ways.
Ancient Egyptians and Romans first made candles using tallow, which had the drawback of burning with a good deal of smoke and soot, not to mention a less than pleasant scent. In medieval Europe, the first beeswax candles were produced in significant numbers. Beeswax was soon decreed as the only candle suitable for burning in churches and cathedrals because it burned cleanly, without any unpleasant scent or soot to stain the ceiling frescoes and artwork in the churches. However, beeswax candles were expensive and thus limited in their distribution to the church and the very wealthy.
Today, candles are usually made from a base of soy wax, vegetable wax, stearic acid and paraffin, or some combination of these substances. However, Qualitas candles are made from natural white beeswax and all-cotton wicks – we do not use paraffin, stearic acid or lead or zinc wicks, which are found in many other candles, even the more expensive ones. For our scented candles, we select pure essential oils and fragrance oils from sources all over the world, in our search to find the most natural and evocative scents. We hope you enjoy these candles as much as we enjoyed making them for you!
