About Bayberry Wax Candles
Bayberry candles use bayberry wax instead of paraffin wax, soy wax or beeswax. The wax comes from bayberries that grow on the bayberry shrub. About 15 pounds of these berries are needed to make one pound of wax. The wax is made by boiling the berries and then skimming the top layer of fatty pulp that rises to the top of the boiling pot. The wax is not made as often as other types of wax, making bayberry wax more expensive and harder to find than other types of wax. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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In American colonial times, tallow was an expensive commodity that was hard to come by for many colonists. The alternative was to make bayberry wax. The wax could be made with the boiling method and then put into a vat that was kept suspended under a wood fire to keep the wax in its liquid form. A cotton wick was then dipped into the vat again and again to make a taper candle for the home.
Significance
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Many people like using bayberry wax candles because of its history of colonial tradition. These candles are often bought because they look old-fashioned and because of their rarity. They are most often used in taper candles that are hand dipped because the wax is not well suited to wider, poured candles.
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Identification
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Bayberry wax is thicker than other types of wax, and it has a different appearance than other waxes. The wax itself is a greenish color that gives bayberry wax candles an unmistakable look that requires no color to be added to the wax. Bayberry wax also needs no candle fragrance added because it has its own sweet scent.
Tradition
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One reason that people buy bayberry candles is that they are often used as traditional Christmas decorations. Bayberry taper candles have a tradition of being good luck to burn on Christmas Eve. The traditional belief was that burning a bayberry candle completely during that day would bring luck in the new year.
Method
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Bayberry tapers can still be made at home by dipping a cotton wick into liquid bayberry wax. To do this, the wick must be slowly dipped and taken out of the wax for a few seconds before dipping it back into the wax. This will allow the wax to cool just enough to stay on the previous layer of wax and the candle will get slightly larger with each dipping.
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