How to Celebrate Candle Night or Lights Out Events

Join other families around the world and celebrate Candle Night an event that promotes the conservation of our natural resources and the enjoyment of taking time to slow down, relax and enjoy the beauty of life.

BREAKING NEWS! Northern California just celebrated their first candle night event, called "Lights Out San Francisco" on Oct. 20, 2007. To learn more about the next "Lights Out America" event, that will be held on March 28, 2008, and how you can hold one of your own in your town, visit www.LightsOutAmerica.org.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• un-scented candles
• scented candles
• glass, crystal, ceramic or metal candle holders
• candle snuffer
• matches

1. 
   Candle Night in Japan

   What is "Candle Night"?
   
   "Candle Night" was first celebrated in Japan back in 2003 according to the Japanese site, Candle-Night.org. Basically it is a special 1-hour or 2-hour long candle lit celebration that reminds people to slow down, conserve electricity and enjoy the beauty of living by candlelight.
   
   
   A description of Candle Night was included in a recent editorial written by Renee Loth on March 30, 2007 in the Boston Globe:
   
   “Candle Night has been embraced in part because it mitigates the grim, eat-your-peas aspect of responsible energy use. ‘It's not rigid, and it's kind of romantic,’ said Edahiro. ‘You can enjoy that two hours any way you wish.’ It operates with a loose, voluntary, 21st century spirit of networking; joiners can log on to the website (candle-night.org) and post their own activities, possibly using Google Maps to pinpoint the event and share messages with others.
   
   The small personal gestures relentlessly promoted in Japan -- recycling, ‘lights down,’ wearing thermal underwear -- may not be as effective as fuel-efficient cars or green buildings, but they help build public consensus for the larger campaigns. Rather than gripe about lifestyle sacrifices, for a few nights at least, many people seem eager to light a candle and bless the darkness.”
   
   How can my family or town celebrate "Candle Night" or "Lights Out"?
   
   *Decide when you would like to hold your "Candle Night" or "Lights Out" celebration each year. Most families and towns celebrate on the Solstices, Summer Solstice and/or Winter Solstice. But many towns are now picking a time during the year when they will have the best chance for a rain-free candlelight celebration.

2. 
   Candle Night in Gouda, Netherlands

   *Once you have decided on the date for your "Candle Night" or "Lights Out" celebration, notify your family and friends of your plans. If you are organizing a community-wide celebration, be sure to get the proper permits, notify the fire department of your plans and send out press releases to local media. You should expect your first celebration to be small, but don't be surprised if the following year your community-wide participation multiplies into a much larger celebration involving local homes and businesses. A new, non-profit organization was recently formed here in the U.S. called "Lights Out America" and they are working very hard to get more and more American cities involved in their energy conservation Lights Out America events. They would be a great resource to help you plan and promote your own city-wide Lights Out celebration. To learn more about their plans for the future, visit their website, www.LightsOutAmerica.org.

3. 
   Earth Hour in Australia

   *Make a list of the supplies you'll need. Generally un-scented candles are best because they won't overwhelm the participants. Some people use just a few scented candles to add a small amount of fragrance to there event. When choosing the types of candles to buy, remember that you want candles that are long-burning (votives and pillars work best for this). Your candle holders should be non-flammable glass, crystal, ceramic or metal.

4. 
   Lights Out London

   *Two hours before the beginning or your "Candle Night" celebration, set out your candles, trim the wicks to 1/4 inch and set your fire extinguishers in strategic locations around the site, making sure that participants know where they are and how to use them. It is also a good idea to keep scissors and candle snuffers handy as well. Wicks will need to be trimmed as soon as they get too long. For this reason, most "Candle Nights" are only one or two hours long.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to publicize your event. If it will be a private event, send out invitations to your friends and invite them to attend and BOC (bring their own candles).
• If this will be a community-wide event, send out press releases well before the event.
• Do not place candles in paper or wooden holders. Candles should only be held in non-flammable containers such as glass candle holder, glass jars or metal candle lanterns.
• At the end of the event make sure all the candles are completely extinguished. Gather up all the candles, holders and matches and put them away.

Resources

• Original Candle Night Organizers
• Lights Out America
• 50 Ways To Go Green (on MSN)
• The Green Machine (on iVillage)
• Conservation: It's Earth's Best Defense
• Illuminations - Source for Un-Scented Candles
• Yankee - Source for Un-Scented Candles
• Candle Reviews
• A Candle For Conservation - Boston Globe Article

[chiz]

on 12/11/2007 Thank you for your inspiring articleabout how to celebrate Candle Night and Lights Out events. I am involved in Candle Night Japan and your article is really encouraging for us, too. I am very happy to know about Lights Out America. I hope people can enjoy some quality time. Please visit our new online messageboard, too. http://feel.candle-night.org/scape/