A get together with friends, coffee, and music emanating from a band visiting from the other side of the Atlantic…It could have been a moment in Paris like any other weekend, but it happened to be the moment in Paris on Friday the 13th; a luminous city utterly eclipsed on a minute.
What has happened has been said, seen and cried upon. The barbaric act, the absence of friends, the loss of tranquility, families in pain, and the terror before extremists has brought global meditation, humanity is asking: where are we heading…all of this has an universal representation, a candle, thousands or millions of them have been lit as the only and last resource of venting, protesting, expressing solidarity and claiming peace.
The terrible images of despair and death provoked by the extremists’ acts on Saint Dennis, close to the Stade of France were quickly substituted in matter of hours by the brightness of candle flames united and firmly held by the hands of a brokenhearted city. The attacks at the Bataclan theater, the restaurants Le Petit Cambodge, La Casa Nostra and Le Comptoin Voltaire, as well as the bullets shot at the bars Le Carrillon and La Belle Equipe; left a devastated scenery, after these acts a group of French citizens came out to the streets and formed a heart with candles demanding peace for their country and the world.
Similar actions were repeated all around the world. In Almeria, Spain, over a thousand people decided to march at la Plaza de la vela (the Candle Square plaza) to prove their rejection against terrorism and their support and solidarity to France. In South Korea, a group of women prayed at the light of a candle in front of the French embassy. Similar manifestations were evident in Berlin, Washington, and Rome, amongst many other cities. The main gestures of support were flowers and candles. Furthermore, Molenbeek, a town in Brussels categorized as a breeding ground for rebel Jihadist in Europe; also participated supporting France, over 2,500 kids, adults and elderly used candles to build an emblem with the name of the Belgic entity, this was their way of expressing that their multicultural borough is inhabited by people of faith.
The magic of the light emanating from the wax, which embraced the hours and days after the terrible attack, is the same light that attempted to vanish the sadness from Paris after the death of Princess Diana; or most recently after the attack against the magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The candles are protagonist to acts of integrity, protests, meditation, demands, despair and commiserations, festivities and celebrations. Candles can unveil their power for an infinity of reasons and at all places, for example, its light gives meaning to annual overnight marches since 2009 in cities like Washington, U.S.A, Vienna, Austria which denounce the Chinese persecution to the followers of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline based on tolerance. In addition, societies like the International Organization for Immigrants which uses candles to commemorate and reminiscence the refugees and death immigrants around the world, this is venerated on July, as the International immigrant Day. “The light of the candles should become the symbol of solidarity among immigrants and their families, it shall remind us that for millions of people around the world immigration is the only hope” (OIM).
Several Christian churches in Pakistan began a ceremony by lighting candles during last Christmas and coordinated a journey of meditation and prayers in memory of the massacre of Peshawar’s victims, where a Taliban group killed over 130 children. Something similar to what has been done in several cities around Mexico due to the abduction of the 43 students from Guerrero or the exodus of migrating children.
Last November, the attention of the world was set on Mexico during all Saints Day, a magnificent Mexican celebration commonly known as the Day of the Death, the holiday reminds us of the prevailing role of candles at the spiritual gatherings. It is them, candles, which connect the death and living people by illuminating the path to reuniting our souls. Mixquic wouldn’t be the emblematic town of Tlahuac before the eyes of the world if it wouldn’t be lit every year as it does.
In Colombia, the candle, known as candela, gives life to their most traditional national holiday: “The day of the little candles” or “night of the little candles” which commemorates the image of Immaculate Conception of Virgen Mary, this festivity starts the night of December 7th and ends at dawn of the following day. Everyone goes out with their little candle illuminating streets, houses, towns and cities. This represents the beginning of Christmas celebrations in the country.
Candles seem to speak under any situation, even when lit at the privacy of home for intimate reasons, they convert light in feelings, emotions and wishes. They have created an everlasting spell of hope throughout the centuries. No matter if composed of lard or wax, without a doubt its magic will continue to duplicate itself in all the corners of the world as a beautiful source of enlightenment.
