Burn a bayberry candle at the close of the year, and you'll have good luck in the next. As the saying goes, "A bayberry candle burned to the socket brings food to thelarder and gold to the pocket." Opinions differ on the optimal evening to light the wick - some say Christmas Eve, others say New Year's Eve. But with the fiscal cliff fast approaching and the Mayan End of Times looming, it hardly seems prudent to wait much longer. The winter solstice is as good an excuse as any for a candle-lit dinner.
As I understand it, the bayberry grows around the world, but is especially well suited to the sandy soil of coastal New England. During colonial times, some enterprising woman realized that if she boiled the berries, she could make candles from the wax that rose to the surface of the vat. These candles smelled much better than the ones made from animal fat, so it became common to give bayberry candles to friends at Christmas.
I've never heard the bayberry saying, I didn't even know what bayberry was, Deja Pseu mentioned it yesterday, I wonder if it's just a US thing?
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, the bayberry grows around the world, but is especially well suited to the sandy soil of coastal New England. During colonial times, some enterprising woman realized that if she boiled the berries, she could make candles from the wax that rose to the surface of the vat. These candles smelled much better than the ones made from animal fat, so it became common to give bayberry candles to friends at Christmas.
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