Lighting candles for the dead had been traditional for a very, very long time (Radish says she supects that the reason they tend to build their houses out of stone might have something to do with the corresponding lack of heat shields or platforms for the candles--trying that on a wooden mantlepiece could be Exciting), but it became somewhat more ritualised and a little . . mmn, more commercial? after they started developing oil and mage-based lighting systems and candlemakers were no longer in every village/city to supply lighting needs. You can special-order unusual colours or shapes, but it takes a long time and not everyone can afford the travel-time or the special-order price.
Blowing out a remembrance candle deliberately, after it's been dedicated to someone, is effectively saying 'you are/will not be remembered' to the ghost/memory.
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Date: 2005-11-01 08:40 pm (UTC)From:Blowing out a remembrance candle deliberately, after it's been dedicated to someone, is effectively saying 'you are/will not be remembered' to the ghost/memory.