Decorate Your Own Paschal Candle

At times when the world can feel dark, we need a reminder of the light of Christ more than ever! I think during a time like this, familiar symbols of our faith and traditions that we can participate in from home are even more important than usual.

You can make your own Paschal Candle at home to light on Easter and during the Easter season, using things you probably already have in your house!  You will need:

1. A taper, pillar, or votive candle (anything larger than a birthday candle will work! If your candle is in a glass jar see the note at the bottom of this post!)
2. A dull pencil or ballpoint pen
3. Either tempera paint or a marker (I used a sharpie)

To make your Paschal candle, first carve the design into your candle using the dull pencil or ballpoint pen.  Candle wax is soft and the indentations don't need to be especially deep, so you will not need to press very hard.  Depending on the size of your candle, you can make the design longer and narrower or shorter and wider to fit.  First make a cross.  Add a dot inside the four points of the cross and one right at the center to represent Jesus' wounds (when we make these with Sunday School we put whole cloves into these dots in place of the incense grains, so if you have whole cloves you could use some here!) Here is a sketch of the design to carve into the candle:

The cross represents Jesus' cross and the five dots or cloves represent the wounds in his hands and feet, the crown of thorns, and the spear in his side.  The letters at the top and bottom are the Greek Alpha and Omega, which remind us that God is the beginning and the end, eternal and unchanging.  The numbers around the arms of the cross are the year, and they remind us that the light of Christ is as bright now as it was that first Easter.

Next, if you are using paint: paint over the design (red is the traditional color) and then get a damp paper towel folded flat so that it doesn't reach into the indentations, and wipe the paint off the surface of your candle.  This should leave only the paint in the indentations you carved into the candle.

If you are using a marker, use it to fill in the design you carved into the candle.  I did this with a sharpie and then I happened to have a metallic gold marker that I used to fill in the cross.

Your Paschal candle is ready to remind you of the light of Christ! I like to light mine on the Sundays of the Easter season, and on the anniversary of my baptism.

Happy candle decorating!
Taylor

PS If the only candles you have are in glass jars, you can still do this! Remove the candle label and clean the outside of the jar off as well as you can.  Draw the design (cross, alpha, omega, and year) on a piece of paper, then mix glue (mod-podge or regular Elmers will work!) with a little water to thin it out so you can spread it easily with a paintbrush or cotton ball.  Paint the outside of the glass with the glue mixture, then lay your design on it and paint over the paper with more of the glue mixture, making sure to cover all of the edges.  Once it's dry, you're ready to go! Kids may remember we have done this project in Sunday school for the conversion of Paul and for mini Advent wreath candles, but there is no reason you can't decoupage on your Paschal candle design to make this an Easter project instead!