Wax Candles

These days candles are made from paraffin wax. 400 years ago they were made from bees wax. Bees make wax honeycombsto keep their honey in. Honey combs are lots of joined hexagonal shapes.

 

The honey was removed from the comb. The wax could be flattened and wound around a wick to make a candle. Or it could be melted and poured into a candle shaped mould. The wicks hung down from a board in the centre so they would be inside the candle when the wax went hard.

Beeswax candles were expensive. Even very rich people did not use them everyday.

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